‘It Is a Fact!’ Trump Press Secretary Rages at AP For Not Calling It ‘Gulf of America’ When Confronted About Banning Outlet

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt fumed at the media’s coverage of President Donald Trump renaming the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” when confronted about banning the Associated Press from the Oval Office.

At a Wednesday White House press briefing, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins pressed Leavitt on what was behind the decision to bar Associated Press reporters from an Oval Office event the day prior. Julie Pace, the executive editor of the Associated Press, said the ban was because the outlet had not changed its guidance on the Gulf of Mexico, choosing to refer to it by its original name after Trump signed his executive order.

Collins asked on Wednesday whether the AP ban set a “precedent” of the administration retaliating against any media outlets using “language” they don’t approve of.

Leavitt argued it’s “important” for outlets to refer to the Gulf of America. She also declared the administration would hold “lies accountable” when they recognize them being pushed in the media.

Check out the exchange below:

KAITLAN COLLINS: “Which White House official made the decision to bar the AP reporter from the Oval Office and the diplomatic reception room last night?”

KAROLINE LEAVITT: “First of all, let me just set the record straight. It is a privilege to cover this White House. It is a privilege to be the White House press secretary. And nobody has the right to go into the Oval Office and ask a president of the United States questions, that is an invitation that is given. 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. 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: “But isn’t it retaliatory in nature, is the argument, because the reason that the AP was barred, which they said was because they are not using the phrase Gulf of America, they are using Gulf of Mexico in line with their standards. And so the question here is, is this setting a precedent where this White House will retaliate against reporters who don’t use the language you guys believe reporters should use and how does that align with the First Amendment commitment that you were just talking about?”

LEAVITT: “I was upfront on day one if we feel that there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable, and it is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America, and I am not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that, but that is what it is. The secretary of interior has made that the official designation, and 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, and it’s very important to the said administration that we get that right, not just for people here at home but also for the rest of the world.”

Watch above via Fox News.

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