Cheyenne Suarez

US court says Trump can bar AP from key White House events for now

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17492571993031749257196756.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="U.S. President Donald Trump listens to a reporter&#x27;s question during an Ambassador Meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on March 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. Win McNamee, Getty Images/AFP"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">U.S. President Donald Trump listens to a reporter&#x27;s question during an Ambassador Meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on March 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. <em>Win McNamee, Getty Images/AFP </em></span></span></span></div><p>WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump can bar The Associated Press from some White House media events for now, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, pausing a lower court order to give access to the US news agency&#x27;s journalists.</p><p>AP journalists and photographers have been barred from the Oval Office and from traveling on Air Force One since mid-February because of the news agency&#x27;s decision to continue referring to the &quot;Gulf of Mexico&quot; — and not the &quot;Gulf of America&quot; as decreed by Trump.</p><p>In April, district court judge Trevor McFadden deemed that move a violation of the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and of the press.</p><p>But on Friday, a panel of judges with the Washington-based federal appeals court ruled that, pending appeal, the government could go ahead and bar AP from &quot;restricted presidential spaces,&quot; which it said did not fall under First Amendment protections.</p><p>&quot;The White House therefore retains discretion to determine, including on the basis of viewpoint, which journalists will be admitted,&quot; the ruling said.</p><p>&quot;Moreover, without a stay, the government will suffer irreparable harm because the injunction impinges on the President&#x27;s independence and control over his private workspaces,&quot; it said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/2/22/press-freedom-on-the-decline-can-the-situation-improve-0807">Press freedom on the decline: Can the situation improve?<br/></a></div><div><strong>&#x27;Big WIN&#x27;</strong></div><p>Following the ruling, Trump hailed on his Truth Social platform the &quot;Big WIN over AP today.&quot;</p><p>&quot;They refused to state the facts or the Truth on the GULF OF AMERICA. FAKE NEWS!!!&quot;</p><p>White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed the sentiment, posting to X, &quot;VICTORY! As we&#x27;ve said all along, the Associated Press is not guaranteed special access to cover President Trump in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One, and in other sensitive locations.&quot;</p><p>The AP, a 180-year-old news organization that has long been a pillar of US journalism, has so far refused to backtrack on its decision to continue referring to the &quot;Gulf of Mexico.&quot;</p><p>In its style guide, it highlights that the Gulf of Mexico has &quot;carried that name for more than 400 years&quot; and the agency &quot;will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen.&quot;</p><p>Trump has long had an antagonistic relationship with most mainstream news media, previously describing them as the &quot;enemy of the people.&quot;</p><p>Since his return to the presidency in January, his administration has sought to radically restructure the way the White House is covered, notably by favoring conservative podcasters and influencers.</p><p>Two weeks after barring the AP, the White House stripped journalists of the nearly century-old power to decide which organization&#x27;s employees will be members of the daily pool of reporters and photographers covering presidential events.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/3/16/trump-freezes-us-funded-media-outlets-including-voice-of-america-0809">Trump freezes US-funded media outlets including Voice of America<br/></a></div><p>His administration has also pressed to dismantle US government-funded overseas outlets Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia, and is seeking to starve National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) of federal funds.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump can bar The Associated Press from some White House media events for now, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, pausing a lower court order to give access to the US news agency's journalists.</p>

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump can bar The Associated Press from some White House media events for now, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, pausing a lower court order to give access to the US news agency's journalists.