Media Elites Call for Boycott of Trump Administration Amid Gulf Naming Dispute
A battle between the White House and establishment media is escalating, as the Associated Press’ refusal to recognize the “Gulf of America” as the official name has led to a full-on conflict with President Donald Trump’s administration.
In response, some media elites are pushing for a national boycott of Trump.
The conflict began when the Associated Press (AP) did not adhere to the White House’s insistence on using the “Gulf of America” terminology, a name that the Trump administration pushed to be recognized, as TTOA previously covered. In retaliation, the White House barred the AP from attending official events.
“Nobody has the right to go into the Oval Office and ask the president of the United States questions,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in response to the AP’s actions. “If we feel that there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable.”
The White House has emphasized that the AP’s language policies, particularly its decisions on terminology, promote a left-wing worldview contrary to the values held by many Americans. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich described the AP’s actions as a political tool, accusing the outlet of weaponizing language to align with partisan beliefs.
“This is about AP weaponizing language through their stylebook to push a partisan worldview,” Budowich told Axios, per Breitbart News. “This is in contrast with the traditional and deeply held beliefs of many Americans and many people around the world.”
Budowich also addressed the situation in an X post Friday.
In the wake of the dispute, some media figures have pushed for coordinated action. Jim Acosta, a former CNN anchor, wrote in a Substack post that news outlets should consider a boycott of White House coverage until Trump backs down.
He argued that journalists should stand up to the administration’s control over the narrative.
“News organizations in Washington should be banding together to send the message that members of the press will determine how they cover the news,” Acosta stated. “Not the White House.”
“Not the man behind the Resolute Desk, no matter how he redraws the world’s maps.”
The idea of media outlets acting in solidarity against the White House was echoed by Jim Friedlich, CEO of the Lenfest Institute for Journalism. He proposed that news outlets such as Reuters, CNN, the Washington Post and the New York Times should boycott White House events if the AP’s access is not restored.
This strategy, he stated, could leave the White House speaking to smaller, conservative-leaning outlets like Fox News, OAN and Newsmax, which primarily reach Trump’s base.
“The loss of a larger megaphone would damage the administration’s voice and offend its considerable ego,” Friedlich wrote in an opinion piece featured in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Amid the feud, some media figures are questioning whether a mass boycott could backfire. CNN’s Brian Stelter warned that Trump’s White House may welcome such a move, pointing out that networks like Breitbart or One America News could step in to fill the gap.
Stelter reflected on how some media outlets had suggested that journalists should act in solidarity with the AP but noted that Trump may relish the chance to have his own preferred outlets fill the void.
“The Trump White House wants this fight,” Stelter wrote. “If the entire press pool skipped a Trump photo op in solidarity with The AP, wouldn’t the White House welcome Breitbart and One America News to take their places?”
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Nice try, Yahoo. Besides the AP, no one is boycotting Trump press meetings. Are you kidding?? The AP and the left can cry and make up stories all they want. But the press gatherings are packed! No “boycott” in sight!
But go ahead, Yahoo.. keep posting for the lying left if you want to go down along with CCN, MSNBC, and the rest of the lying media. The people have spoken and we’re done with the lies.