Trump Admin Defends Kicking Reporter From White House for Refusing to Use 'Gulf of America': 'We Are Going to Hold Lies Accountable'

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the White House's decision to kick out Associated Press reporters on Tuesday for refusing to use "Gulf of America."

During a press briefing on Wednesday, Leavitt declared in a clip circulating on X that the Trump administration "reserves the right to decide who gets to go in the Oval Office," before adding AP had been allowed to attend the latest news conference.

Another reporter then asked what precedent the White House is setting by retaliating against reporters who don't use Trump-approved language, and whether their decision to bar AP contradicted the Trump administration's commitment to the First Amendment.

"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," Leavitt stated. "And it is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America."

The press secretary then grew increasingly hostile towards news outlets' resistance to call the body of water the Gulf of America.

"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 outlet in this room has recognized that body of water as the Gulf of America," she added.

"And it's very important to this administration that we get that right, not just for people here at home but also the rest of the world," Leavitt continued.

On Wednesday, Julie Pace, AP's senior vice president and executive editor, released a statement lambasting the Trump administration's decision.

"It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism," Pace wrote. "Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP's speech not only severely impedes the public's access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment."