Trump Ignores Court Order Prohibiting Blacklisting of Journalists
The Associated Press has reported that its journalist and photographer were barred from a press conference involving US President Donald Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office on Monday. Despite a court ruling restoring...
TroibNews 
The Associated Press has reported that its journalist and photographer were barred from a press conference involving US President Donald Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office on Monday. Despite a court ruling restoring access, the White House did not allow the AP news team to attend.
The exclusion followed an earlier incident in February when Trump prohibited AP from most presidential events after the agency refused to use the term ‘Gulf of America’ in its reports about the Gulf of Mexico, which Trump officially renamed in January.
“As a global news agency that disseminates information worldwide, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences,” the outlet stated at that time.
A federal court in Washington, DC, ruled last week that the ban infringes upon the First Amendment rights of the press. Judge Trevor N. McFadden noted, “Under the First Amendment, if the government opens its doors to some journalists – be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere – it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints.” The White House is currently appealing this decision.
According to the AP, while its reporters remain excluded from the Oval Office and Air Force One, they do have “sporadic access” to other areas, including briefings led by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Trump has routinely criticized what he refers to as “the lying media,” accusing journalists of distributing “fake news” related to him and his administration. Last month, Leavitt rebuked an AP reporter for what she labeled an “insulting” question regarding Trump’s tariff policy.
Mathilde Moreau for TROIB News
The exclusion followed an earlier incident in February when Trump prohibited AP from most presidential events after the agency refused to use the term ‘Gulf of America’ in its reports about the Gulf of Mexico, which Trump officially renamed in January.
“As a global news agency that disseminates information worldwide, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences,” the outlet stated at that time.
A federal court in Washington, DC, ruled last week that the ban infringes upon the First Amendment rights of the press. Judge Trevor N. McFadden noted, “Under the First Amendment, if the government opens its doors to some journalists – be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere – it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints.” The White House is currently appealing this decision.
According to the AP, while its reporters remain excluded from the Oval Office and Air Force One, they do have “sporadic access” to other areas, including briefings led by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Trump has routinely criticized what he refers to as “the lying media,” accusing journalists of distributing “fake news” related to him and his administration. Last month, Leavitt rebuked an AP reporter for what she labeled an “insulting” question regarding Trump’s tariff policy.
Mathilde Moreau for TROIB News
