Summary
The Associated Press (AP) has again asked a federal judge to lift its ban from White House events, arguing the Trump administration is escalating retaliation over its refusal to adopt Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico.
The AP says the White House has restricted its access further, including barring a photographer from Air Force One’s arrival.
Trump dismissed AP as “radical left lunatics.”
Major news organizations, including Trump-friendly outlets, urged the administration to reverse the ban, calling it a press freedom violation.
A second court hearing is set for March 20.
And it’s such a weird hill to die on. It’s actually one of the things where I don’t believe there’s any ambiguity about whether he has the right to do it. Unless Congress has named it, he can do that and you just have to deal with the fact that this government will call that body of water the Gulf of America.
It’s obviously a stupid thing to do, but out of all the things to take a stand on, it’s just weird, especially after almost a decade of sanewashing his bullshit.
Then again, there hasn’t been any point to having a press pool follow the President in decades, they’re just stenographers, you might as well just read the press releases and type them up instead. Or do real journalism by getting information from sources you’ve cultivated relationships with.