By Katherine Tinsley
3:22pm PST, Feb 25, 2025
According to ABC8 News, the White House will "double down" on taking away the Associated Press' Oval Office credentials.
"It's beyond time that the White House press operation reflects the media habits of the American people in 2025, not 1925," Leavitt said.
Throughout Trump's political career, he's branded major networks that criticized him as "fake news."
"The White House press team, in this administration, will determine who gets to enjoy the very privileged and limited access in spaces such as Air Force One and the Oval Office," Leavitt said during a daily briefing.
"A select group of D.C.-based journalists should no longer have a monopoly of press access at the White House," she added.
The Trump administration's decision to deny popular platforms special access has been greatly criticized.
"We reserve the right to decide who gets to go into the Oval Office," Leavitt said, as she considers it to be a "privilege to cover the White House."
The Associated Press was stripped of their ability to report from the president's office after they continued to use the Gulf of Mexico in their articles, despite Trump renaming the region the Gulf of America.
"If we feel there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable," the press secretary told journalists.
Trump's executive order led to Google Maps and other platforms changing what they called the Florida Sea, but the Associated Press' style guide didn't accommodate the shift.
"And 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," the communications professional stressed.
After being ousted, the Associated Press updated their policy.
The outlet shared they will refer to the area "by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen."
