The White House Correspondents Association protested Tuesday by the White House decision to prohibit a reporter from Associated Press attending an act with President Donald Trump for the decision of the news agency to continue using the name “Gulf of Mexico”.
Trump signed a decree in January in which he ordered the Secretary of the Interior to change the name for that of “Gulf of America“
“The White House He cannot dictate how news organizations report the news, nor should he penalize the journalists who work because he is not happy with the decisions of their editors, “Eugene Daniels, president of the association, said on Tuesday, in a statement published in X.
“The government’s measure to prohibit a reporter from Associated Press from attending an official event open to news coverage today is unacceptable,” Daniels said.
The Executive Editor of AP, Julie Pace, previously said in a statement that her reporter was prevented from attending an event in the Oval office After being informed by the White House that he would be vetoed unless he align his editorial standards with Trump’s decree.
“It is alarming that Trump’s government punishes AP for his independent journalism,” said Pace, adding that limiting access violates the first amendment of the United States Constitution that guarantees press freedom.
AP says in his style book that the Gulf of Mexico has taken that name for more than 400 years and, as a global news agency, AP will refer to him by his original name while recognizing the new name that Trump has chosen.
The White House He did not respond immediately to the requests for comments on the statements of the Association of correspondents of the White House and AP. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico also did not respond immediately to a request for comments on Tuesday.
Like the United States, Mexico has a long coast that surrounds the mass of water. In January, the Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, suggested jokingly that North America, including the United States, becomes called “Mexican America”, a historical name used in an old map of the region.
Most of the news organizations, including Reuters, call it the Gulf of Mexico although, when it is relevant, Reuters style is to include the context on Trump’s decree.
