Don’t mistake President Trump’s battle with the Associated Press as just one more spat between the president and news media. This isn’t the familiar “fake news” drumbeat from an official who bristles at criticism. This time, Trump is seeking to override the free-press clause of First Amendment.
U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden suggested as much in a hearing Feb. 24 in which the AP sought an order to prevent the White House from punishing it for what it publishes. Though he declined to issue a temporary restraining order – generally reserved for highly urgent matters – McFadden suggested that the White House reconsider its decision. “It seems pretty clearly viewpoint discrimination.” McFadden said.
As constitutional clashes go, this one is pretty basic. Trump declared that a body of water known by the world for centuries as the Gulf of Mexico should henceforth be known as the “Gulf of America.” The gulf is abutted by Mexico, Cuba and the U.S., and the three nations have a collective stake in it.
The AP, which publishes a stylebook that provides word-use guidance for journalists around the world, opted to continue to use the most widely accepted name for the gulf, while noting Trump’s preference.
Unhappy that the AP hasn’t fully embraced the White House’s preferred terminology, Trump has banished the agency from the Oval Office and key briefings.
The White House actions led to the AP’s filing a lawsuit saying the president’s retaliation violates the First Amendment. A followup to Monday’s hearing is set for March 20.
It should be a short one. The First Amendment says that the government can’t use its power to punish us for what we’ve said or written. Trump had the AP removed from sessions the organization has attended for decades because the wire service dares to write “Gulf of Mexico.” He is insisting that journalists use the language of his choice or face consequences.
Lost in much of the discussion has been that the stylebook is purely advisory. Any news organization in the world – including the U.S. – can edit AP stories to its liking, including calling the gulf anything it wants.
As Axios notes, “for most of its 179 years, AP has been viewed as non-controversial — known for just-the-facts neutrality. The AP Stylebook, first published in 1953, is a basic text in journalism schools — and the first grammar and style guide most U.S. news outlets (including Axios) consult when setting their own rules. The style rules that rankle conservatives are nested among thousands of Stylebook directives about punctuation and grammar, most of them time-tested and innocuous — capitalization, commas and company names.”
In an interview on Feb. 21 with Fox News, Trump described the AP as “radical left lunatics.”
That’s not accurate. The AP is the most respected news organization in the world in large part because of its temperate and balanced reporting. It is not grandstanding or baiting the president.
For all its reach, the AP remains a low-profile organization that doesn’t look for fights. It is universally respected because it carefully sets specific reader-friendly standards and hews to them via its comprehensive stylebook. When President Trump – who has full authority to rename places in federal lands – changed Denali back to Mt. McKinley, the AP’s coverage and stylebook reflected the name change because that’s what its rules say.
AP follows the rules. The White House needs to do the same.
See also: News Access to Press Events
Ken Paulson is the director of the Free Speech Center.
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