On Feb. 11, Donald Trump barred the Associated Press (AP) from the Oval Office and Air Force One press conferences indefinitely during his second term as president of the United States. 

Trump’s reasoning for this action was that the AP refused to refer to the body of water as the “Gulf of America” instead of the “Gulf of Mexico.” Thus far, three lawsuits against White House administrative officials have been filed by the AP due to this infringement of the First Amendment.

”The Associated Press just refuses to go with what the law is,” Trump said at a press conference hosted last week. “The Associated Press has been very very wrong on the election, on Trump, on the treatment of Trump and with other things having to do with Trump and with the Republicans and conservatives and they’re doing us no favors.”

Since the 1550s, the Gulf of Mexico has been called the Gulf of Mexico. The only country to pass a change to the name was the United States of America. The body of water is not entirely within the U.S.’s territory, as it touches Cuba and Mexico as well. 

In a similar effort, Trump ordered an Alaskan mountain’s name to be changed from Denali to Mount McKinley. The AP cooperated in this change as it is within U.S. territory. Trump’s new name for it will hold up since he has signed the executive order, “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness.”

The AP is an international news source that caters to many countries that still refer to the body of water by its original name. The AP does not have to change the wording in their stories. It was also asked of them to update the AP Stylebook, which is a handbook that most news sources use as a reference when it comes to how to write in journalism. The book is not made for strictly citizens of the United States.

In early February of 2025, Trump held a press conference in the Oval Office that the AP has historically attended due to the organization being a staple in the field of journalism. This time, they were turned away.

“AP reporters and photographers travel with the president virtually everywhere as part of a press “pool” and have for decades. AP journalism serves millions of readers and thousands of news outlets around the world,” David Bauder, the AP national media writer, said in an interview on CNN.

This is not the first time Trump has quarreled with the press. Earlier this year, the president sued CBS for a sound clip from before the election that had been used in their ‘60 Minutes’ with the former vice president, Kamala Harris. CBS later released the entire audio file so the viewers could form an opinion on the situation themselves.

One of Trump’s executive orders that were announced on Jan. 20, 2025, “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship,” was announced with the intention of protecting the people’s rights to not be censored by the government, citing the First Amendment as their reasoning. This amendment contradicts Trump’s actions against the press.

In the Constitution of the United States, the citizens of America have the right to freedom of speech through the First Amendment.

According to the Constitution, “The First Amendment guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition. It forbids Congress from both promoting one religion over others and also restricting an individual’s religious practices. It guarantees freedom of expression by prohibiting Congress from restricting the press or the rights of individuals to speak freely. It also guarantees the right of citizens to assemble peaceably and to petition their government.”

Another aspect of the First Amendment that is protected is the freedom of the press. “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” That is to say, under the First Amendment, the government is not technically supposed to have the ability to censor the media simply due to the fact that they disagree with what is being spoken about. 

Barring the AP is a big deal and not something to be swept under the rug. It puts many sources at risk and creates a fear among the media, a major fear surrounding how the Constitution is being interpreted.