White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a warning to reporters, stating that if they are found to be dishonest about President Donald Trump’s administration, they will face repercussions.
Leavitt’s remarks came in response to questions about the White House’s recent decision to exclude the Associate Press from two events due to their refusal to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the ‘Gulf of America.’ Following Trump’s executive order renaming the body of water on Sunday.
‘Covering this White House is a privilege,’ she asserted. ‘Being the White House press secretary is a privilege, and it is not anyone’s entitlement to enter the Oval Office and interrogate the President of the United States. This is a courtesy extended to them.’
‘I was very upfront in my briefing on day one, that if we feel that there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable,’ she added.
The Associated Press was in Leavitt’s briefing on Wednesday with a correspondent seated in its front row seat. Leavitt did not call on the AP reporter for a question.
The news organization said on Tuesday that it was ‘informed by the White House that if AP did not align its editorial standards with President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, AP would be barred from accessing an event in the Oval Office.’
AP’s executive editor Julie Pace called the decision ‘alarming,’ a violation of the First Amendment and impeding the public’s access to independent news.
An AP reporter was banned on Tuesday from covering Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Elon Musk and the president greeting returned American hostage Marc Foley later that evening. An AP photographer was present for both events.
Leavitt blasted the AP for not using ‘Gulf of America’ in its coverage, saying it was important that ‘we get it right.’
‘It is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America, and I’m not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that, but that is what it is,’ she said.
‘The Secretary of Interior has made that the official designation and the geographical identification name server and Apple has recognized that Google has recognized that pretty much every other outlet in this room has recognized that body of water as the Gulf of America. And it’s very important to this administration that we get that right, not just for people here at home, but also for the rest of the world.’
News organizations around the world subscribe to the AP’s wire coverage of global events, including the White House. The news organization is a non-profit with bureaus around the world.
In its AP Stylebook, which is used by many news organizations in America, the AP outlines its status on the use of the name: ‘The Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years. The Associated Press will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen. As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences.’
It points out ‘the body of water has shared borders between the U.S. and Mexico. Trump’s order only carries authority within the United States. Mexico, as well as other countries and international bodies, do not have to recognize the name change.’
Trump signed an executive order on Sunday changing the body of water’s name.
The White House Correspondents’ Association called the White House’s action ‘unacceptable’.
Trump, in his first term, barred journalists whose coverage he didn’t like. He clashed with Jim Acosta, then CNN’s White House correspondent, repeatedly and had his press pass revoked. CNN sued and a court reinstated Acosta’s pass.
Leavitt also used her time at the briefing room podium on Wednesday to blast the pool system that covers the president.
Hundreds of journalists are credentialed to cover the White House. It is not possible for all of them to travel with the president on Air Force One or to fit in the Oval Office.
Because of that, White House Correspondents Association runs a ‘pool system.’ Representatives from the wire services, TV networks, radio stations, and print outlets – along with several photographers – are with the president on those occasions and send out ‘pool reports’ on what the president says and does.
There are 16 journalists in the pool that covers Oval Office events and 13 that travel with the president (due to seating restrictions on Air Force One).
About 30 outlets out of the hundreds that cover the president participate in the pools.
News outlets pay to travel with the president and the expense can prohibit smaller outlets from traveling.
‘There are hundreds of outlets on this campus,’ Leavitt said.
‘Many of you in this room who don’t have the privilege of being part of that pool every single day and getting to ask the president questions. We reserve the right to decide who gets to go into the Oval Office, and you all have credentials to be here, including the Associated Press who is in this briefing room,’ she said.
