Fox News And Newsmax Sign Letter Urging Trump To Rescind Ban On The AP [View all]

Source: Huff Post

Feb 21, 2025, 07:53 AM EST


Conservative outlets Fox News and Newsmax have signed onto a letter backed by several news organizations calling on the Trump administration to stop excluding The Associated Press from official White House events. The White House has said it will continue sidelining AP until the news agency uses “Gulf of America” instead of “Gulf of Mexico,” following an executive order by President Donald Trump renaming the body of water.

The letter, which was first reported by Status, was circulated by the White House Correspondents Association and has been signed by 40 news organizations, including Fox News and Newsmax. “The decision to exclude the Associated Press from covering the president aboard Air Force One and in the Oval Office is an escalation of a dispute that does not serve the presidency or the public,” the letter reads, according to The Washington Post. “News organizations must be free to make their own editorial decisions without fear of government intrusion.”

Newsmax also released its own statement on the Trump-AP standoff, saying that while they may often find themselves at odds with AP’s editorial point of view, they felt inclined to speak up in support of the news organization’s First Amendment rights. “We can understand President Trump’s frustration because the media has often been unfair to him, but Newsmax still supports the AP’s right, as a private organization, to use the language it wants to use in its reporting,” the statement reads. “We fear a future administration may not like something Newsmax writes and seek to ban us.”

This letter hasn’t been made public, reflecting the WHCA’s assessment that pressuring the White House behind the scenes might be a better strategy, according to Status.

Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fox-news-newsmax-oppose-trump-ap-ban_n_67b85283e4b05145b9c53cce