During the first press conference of President Donald Trump’s second term, I found it surprising when press secretary Karoline Leavitt opened the floor to questions and offered the first to recently founded website, Axios rather than The Associated Press (AP). During a President’s first press conference, the first question typically goes to The Associated Press as the news organization has been historically viewed as an unbiased source. Even during Trump’s first term, President Trump did not pick a fight with AP compared to other major news organizations. By choosing Axios first, however, the Trump Administration was clear in its intent to undermine the “factuality” and prestige associated with AP and was the public start of its “war” against the news organization.
To understand why the White House decided to go to war with AP, one must understand the historical role of AP in the news industry. Founded in 1846, AP is viewed as the end-all be-all-decider of truth in reporting. It has one of the most reputable brands in journalism, so much so that no other news source usually calls the U.S. presidential election before AP. In addition to its news coverage, the AP Stylebook is used by other news organizations such as (as well as private companies and Non Government Organizations) as the standard for grammatical guidelines. Even The Miscellany News uses the AP Stylebook.
Why would the White House pick a fight with AP and bar the organization from its press room? In short, AP reports the facts, and when you look at the actions of the Trump administration factually, it is not a pretty picture. The President’s defense of factual reporting has typically been “FAKE NEWS,” and to his credit, sometimes he is right. I do believe that the left-leaning media, like CNN and The New York Times, is very harsh on him and does not give him a fair shot, critiquing rather than explaining his policy in its news sections. But, the difference between these organizations and AP is that the latter will report facts, not analyze them, allowing the reader to come to their own conclusions. By fact, I simply mean what has happened and its implications. Nothing more or less.
This dispute between the two was put on full display with the showdown between two entities over a naming dispute regarding the body of water off the Gulf Coast. At the start of his second term, President Trump renamed the body of water to the “Gulf of America” as he believed it would boost national pride. The President’s decree, however, only applies to the United States, not the world, which recognizes the body as the “Gulf of Mexico.”
Almost immediately, many news organizations changed the name of the gulf. AP, however, is not just an American-focused news organization, it is international. Therefore, it makes sense that they would not change the name of an international body of water that most of the world recognizes as the “Gulf of Mexico.” Had the gulf not been in international waters, AP likely would have adopted the name change, as it did when the White House renamed Mount Denali to Mount McKinley.
The White House was livid when it heard that AP would not change the name and responded by barring AP from the press room, a historically unprecedented move. The White House argues that AP was promoting “Fake News,” and that the body of water is in fact named the “Gulf of America.” AP dissented and refused to change the name and to this day is still barred from the press room. This move caused many critics to say that the White House is suppressing free press, but I disagree with that. AP is still allowed to operate and publish within the United States, something that would not be possible if they were being suppressed. Technically, it is the White House’s prerogative to choose which news organizations are allowed in the press room. But, just because one has the right to do something does not make it any less controversial. I mean, there is a reason Infowars does not have press access. In actuality, I think this move was done for a more precise reason: to undermine the reputation of AP.
If the President only has left-leaning news organizations who he can decry as “FAKE NEWS,” and right-leaning news organizations who constantly praise him, then who will be left that report the actual news? At the end of the day, someone still needs to report the news, and that someone has usually been AP, but the President wants to change that. The President wants those “nasty” or “great” questions because they make him look like a victim or like a hero, he does not want boring ones which he needs to truly answer. His whole White House relies on keeping up the media circus and if there are factual questions, that throws a wrench in his plans. That is why he got rid of The Associated Press: they are the only “REAL NEWS” left.