Uncensored Take: AP Scores a Partial Loss in White House Access Dispute with Trump
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AP Sustains Judicial Setback in Contentious Lawsuit with Trump - In the contentious tussle, Associated Press (AP) encounters a judicial setback in their disagreement with former President Trump.
In a dramatic legal blow, the Associated Press (AP) suffered a partial setback in their dispute with none other than the one and only Donald J. Trump. The octogenarian "boss" barred AP from gracing his exclusive hangouts such as the Oval Office, Air Force One, and even his luxurious palace, Mar-a-Lago, over their refusal to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America."
Enter the hero of the hour, Federal Judge Trevor McFadden! In April, McFadden ruled that these sanctions went against the First Amendment, which championed freedom of speech and the press. The "First Amendment” guaranteed that if the government welcomes some journos, it can't slam the door on others due to their ideologies.
Unsurprisingly, the White House challenged this verdict, and with a sneaky tactical move, they secured a victory on Friday. The US Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. decided that certain spaces associated with the U.S. President, primarily areas with restricted access, are not governed by the First Amendment's application.
Understandably, this means the White House can decide, depending on the journalists' viewpoints, who gets the privilege of enjoying the president's private spaces. Furthermore, restricting access to these spaces was deemed crucial to preserving the president's autonomy and control over his private working spaces.
Trump, ever the embattled showman, declared this a significant triumph over AP on his platform, Truth Social. He spun the events, stating the AP refused to report the facts or the truth about the Gulf of "America." Classic Trump, right?
The Trump camp, namely spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, acknowledged a victory, stating categorically that AP had no exclusive rights to report on President Trump's activities in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One, or at other critical locations.
TheAP's battle withTrump kicked off in February when they flat-out refused to bow to Trump's command to rechristen the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America" and modify their editorial policies accordingly. The AP cheekily pointed out that the sea region has been dubbed the Gulf of Mexico for over four centuries.
For AP, credibility is paramount; as a global news provider, they must use geographical labels familiar to all their users. The Trump-ordered name change applied only to the United States, while the rest of the world carries on with the old moniker. Trump wasted no time signing a decree to rename the Gulf of Mexico in his first month in office.
AP, the most prominent news agency in the U.S. and one of the largest worldwide, has set the linguistic standards for other American newsrooms and corporate offices for years.
The AP ban forms part of Trump's long-standing war on mainstream media. Since returning to the White House, his hostility towards established media has amplified exponentially.
The White House has taken away the right of the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) to independently determine the make-up of the "pool," a group of journalists who report on the president up close. In their place, right-wing journalists and Trump-friendly media personalities have been granted easier access to the president.
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- Donald Trump
- AP (Associated Press)
- U.S. President
- America
- White House
- Gulf of Mexico
- Air Force One
- Mexico
- Trevor McFadden
- Washington, D.C.
[1] https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/12/politics/white-house-petition-ap-gulf-of-mexico/index.html[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/05/12/white-house-unhappy-with-court-ruling-on-gulf-of-mexico-dispute/
- The partial loss sustained by the Associated Press (AP) in their dispute with Donald J. Trump, the US President, came as a result of a ruling in Washington, D.C.
- This dispute centered around AP's refusal to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America," an order issued by Trump.
- Trevor McFadden, a federal judge, initially ruled in April that Trump's sanctions went against the First Amendment, but the US Court of Appeals later overturned this decision.
- This decision means that the White House can selectively restrict access to certain spaces associated with the US President based on journalists' viewpoints.
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