​​​​​​​WASHINGTON

The White House is attempting to curtail free speech by retaliating against Associated Press (AP) reporters, the news agency said Wednesday in a deepening row about its decision to decline to reflect President Donald Trump's abrupt decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America."

AP Executive Editor Julie Pace said in a letter to Chief of Staff Susie Wiles that the White House's decision to bar its reporters from two events Tuesday was "plainly intended to punish the AP for the content of its speech."

"It is among the most basic tenets of the First Amendment that the government cannot retaliate against the public or the press for what they say. This is viewpoint discrimination based
on a news organization's editorial choices and a clear violation of the First Amendment," Pace wrote. She was referring to the US Constitution's clause that protects free speech and the press.

"A fundamental role of the press is to serve as the public's eyes and ears. When journalists are blocked from doing their job, it is the American public who suffers. It also sets an alarming precedent that has the potential to affect every news outlet and, in turn, severely limit the public's right to know what is happening inside their government," added Pace.

She said it is unclear whether the punitive actions will remain in place but stressed that the news agency is "prepared to vigorously defend its constitutional rights and protest the infringement on the public's right to independent news coverage of their government and elected officials," likely signaling a looming legal challenge.

A copy of the letter was posted on X by a New York Times media reporter.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, who is CC'd in Pace's letter, defended the executive mansion's actions saying she believes the AP is lying by declining to adopt the president's name for the Gulf of Mexico. "We are going to hold those lies accountable."

"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," she told reporters.

Leavitt pointed to actions taken by Google and Apple to rename their maps apps in line with the president's directions for US users. But the companies continue to call the body of water lining much of Mexico's eastern coast and the southern US the Gulf of Mexico.

Apple said it would later roll out the change to global users.