Trump’s fight with the Associated Press is about more than one word

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The worst part about President Trump renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America is that John Mellencamp has to re-record “Pink Houses” and it isn’t going to rhyme anymore.

That, and the Trump administration trying to bully The Associated Press into conforming.

Many news media are refusing to conform. Some others, such as Axios, have pathetically caved. Some, such as Gannett, will write the world’s longest sentence and acknowledge both names.

But it’s the AP specifically that’s getting punished, with its reporters banned from White House press opportunities for the past week. Trump reiterated the punishment on Tuesday. The AP, which is following Trump’s order to rename Mount Denali as Mount McKinley, says it won’t change its gulf references because Trump can’t dictate the name of a gulf that isn’t completely within the U.S. and because it doesn’t want to confuse its many international readers who still recognize the 400-year-old name “Gulf of Mexico.” The White House seeks to justify its punitive actions by saying the AP is engaging in “misinformation,” which is like a kettle being called black by an oil tank. (And if misinformation is the standard, Fox News should be confined to standing on Pennsylvania Avenue.)

Various media reports say the Trump administration is picking on the AP because it’s annoyed by what it sees as a pattern of progressive language choices in the wire service’s widely followed (but non-binding!) stylebook. The crowd belittling wokeness* remains offended, for instance, about the AP’s decision to begin capitalizing “Black,” but not “white.” Unlike the AP, they see no problem with “illegal immigrants,” for another example. I’ve been using or teaching the AP Stylebook for an entire career and while there’s certainly some silliness, the AP has evolved its recommendations to eliminate language that is understandably offensive to a variety of minority groups. In other cases, the AP made decisions that required wrestling with the often competing considerations of political neutrality and truth.

Word choices are often fraught with politics. Consider “The Civil War” vs. “The War Between the States.” Or “pro-abortion” vs. “pro-choice.” One person’s “militant” is another person’s “terrorist.“ And someone else’s “freedom fighter.”

donald trump called out the ap again on tuesday. community note: his executive order is not a law.

“Gulf of America” is an exercise in ethnocentrism and xenophobia. The White House then chose to use the issue not only to try to bully the AP but also to try to spook all media into obeying on matters of language. In the even bigger picture, Trump’s actions are a dopamine hit for his anti-media voter base, and an attempt to assert power over the press. He hopes that translates into greater reluctance to challenge presidential actions and policies.

News organizations have rightly called out the White House for its treatment of the AP, and they’re quietly pushing the White House behind the scenes, but defense of journalistic independence and free speech demands stronger, collective action. Being ignored is really painful for Trump, as is not having anyone to fight with. So, until the AP’s access gets restored, colleagues should boycott White House press events.** It wouldn’t take everyone to be effective. (Read this for a contrary opinion.)

Media politics and egos would never allow it to happen, but I have long believed that press conferences with presidents and press secretaries, especially the current ones, could be adequately handled by one TV camera and one aggressive pool reporter, while everyone else in the huge White House press corps devotes their time more wisely to finding truth and impactful news stories within the executive branch. What’s funny is, in my imagined scenario, that lone pool reporter was always The Associated Press.

* The AP added “woke” to its stylebook in 2023 but discourages its use.

** In 2009 major TV networks refused to interview a top Treasury Department official because the Obama administration had told Fox News it couldn’t participate. The White House eventually changed its mind.