Karoline Leavitt runs a tight ship in the press briefing room.
She does not have time for journalists who get out of line.
And Karoline Leavitt dropped the hammer on CNN for telling this big lie.
Controversy ensues after the AP tries to play games with the Trump White House
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on his day in office to restore American greatness, which renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
The move struck a nerve with the Left who hated it.
Associated Press (AP) decided to ignore Trump’s executive order and stick with the Gulf of Mexico in its style guide and reporting.
This was the same AP that gladly went along with the name change of every sports team, military base, school, and road after George Floyd’s death in the summer of 2020.
Changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico was a bridge too far for them.
The Trump White House responded by blocking the AP from an event and the press briefing room.
Journalists freaked out and acted like this was an assault on the First Amendment and the end of a free press.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt noted that “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.”
The First Amendment does not guarantee access to White House press briefings for the AP.
AP reporters can write and say whatever they want.
Karoline Leavitt smacks CNN’s White House reporter
CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins wanted to make a scene out of the AP being banned from the White House at a press briefing.
Karoline Leavitt made it clear that she was not going to play games with CNN.
“Which White House official made the decision to bar the AP reporter from the Oval Office and the diplomatic reception room last night?” Collins asked.
“Well, first of all, let me just set the record straight. It is a privilege to cover this White House,” Leavitt fired back. “It’s a privilege to be the White House Press Secretary, and nobody has the right to go into the Oval Office and ask the President of the United States questions. That’s an invitation that is given.”
Leavitt pointed out that the White House press briefing room does not have space for every media outlet.
“And there are hundreds of outlets on this campus, many of you in this room who don’t have the privilege of being part of that pool every single day and getting to ask the president questions,” Leavitt continued. “We reserve the right to decide who gets to go into the Oval Office, and you all have credentials to be here, including the Associated Press who is in this briefing room today.”
Collins claimed that the AP being banned was retaliation for not using the Gulf of America name.
“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, and I’m not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that, but that is what it is.”
The AP was the outlier in not using the name which was meant as a slight to the administration.
“The Secretary of Interior has made that the official designation in the geographical identification name server and Apple has recognized that, Google has recognized that, pretty much every other outlet in this room has recognized that body of water as the Gulf of America,” Leavitt added. “And it’s very important to this administration that we get that right, not just for people here at home, but also for the rest of the world.”
Karoline Leavitt is not going to play games with reporters in press briefings.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this story.
