Trump previewed his asinine idea to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” before taking office, and sure enough this issue of imperative national importance was among his eleventy Inauguration Day executive orders. Among those declining to implement the unilateral name change of international waters, is the Associated Press. And the AP is not only a news outlet, but also a venerable US stylebook (their grave error in judgment over the Oxford Comma notwithstanding). So Donny boy is bigly mad at AP, and banned them from White House access on February 11, which he says will stand “until such time as they agree that it’s the Gulf of America.” 10 days later, the AP struck back. On Friday, the AP sued three Trump admin officials for blocking their access, rightly calling it unconstitutional:

“The press and all people in the United States have the right to choose their own words and not be retaliated against by the government,” the AP said in its lawsuit, which names White House chief of staff Susan Wiles, deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich and press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

“This targeted attack on the AP’s editorial independence and ability to gather and report the news strikes at the very core of the First Amendment,” the news agency said. “This court should remedy it immediately.” The Constitution’s First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press, speech and religion and bars the government from obstructing any of them.

…“We’re going to keep them out until such time as they agree that it’s the Gulf of America,” Trump said Tuesday.

This week, about 40 news organizations signed onto a letter organized by the White House Correspondents Association, urging the White House to reverse its policy against the AP. They included outlets like Fox News Channel and Newsmax, where many of the on-air commentators are Trump supporters.

“We can understand President Trump’s frustration because the media has often been unfair to him, but Newsmax still supports AP’s right, as a private organization, to use the language it wants to use in its reporting,” Newsmax said in a statement. “We fear a future administration may not like something Newsmax writes and seek to ban us.”

While AP journalists have still been allowed on White House grounds, they have been kept out of the “pool” of journalists that cover events in smaller spaces and report back to its readers and other reporters. The AP has been part of the White House pools for more than a century.

…In an email to AP, Wiles said the news organization was targeted because its influential stylebook is used as a standard by many journalists, scholars and students across the country, the lawsuit said. She said the administration was hopeful the name change would be reflected in the AP Stylebook “where American audiences are concerned.”

The Stylebook is used by international audiences, as well as those within the United States. … A Trump executive order to change the name of the United States’ largest mountain back to Mount McKinley from Denali is being recognized by the AP Stylebook. Trump has the authority to do so because the mountain is completely within the country he oversees, AP has said.

Wiles also wrote to the AP that its stylebook’s influence “has been misused, and at times weaponized, to push a divisive and partisan agenda,” according to the lawsuit.

[From AP News]

White House chief of staff Susan Wiles claims the AP stylebook’s influence “has been misused, and at times weaponized, to push a divisive and partisan agenda.” … She says, presumably with a straight face, while responding to a lawsuit against the Trump admin for blocking the AP from White House access until they capitulate to the administration’s will. I mean, even Fox News and Newsmax are siding with the AP on this one, ffs. The suit was filed in Washington, DC, and has already been assigned to a Trump-appointed judge. Historically, I’d say that judges of all political persuasions tend to favor protecting constitutional amendments — especially the first one. But in this un-brave new world? All bets are off.

So to reconfirm, for the time being in the world of digital maps, Google is appeasing Trump by listing the body of water as the “Gulf of America,” (for US-based users only, way to take a stand, guys), while MapQuest is still using the real name, Gulf of Mexico. Also, this happened before the lawsuit was filed, but I’d still love to get the AP stylebook’s official take on Trump referring to himself in the third person at last Tuesday’s press conference, when he said the AP “has been very, very, wrong on the election, on Trump, and the treatment of Trump and other things having to do with Trump.” The APA is also welcome to chime in here, as well.

Monday evening the judge declined AP’s request that the ban be temporarily lifted. So it will stay in effect until at least March 20, the hearing date set by the judge.

Note by CB: If you go to APNews.com you can donate to the Associated Press.

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