Mr. President, free speech is a constitutional right. Mr. AP, free speech is also a responsibility.
Independent reporting is essential to a functioning democracy. Without it, corruption and inaccurate information flourish. The Trump administration has banned the Associated Press from White House events because the news service continues to call the “Gulf of Mexico” by its long-standing name, while acknowledging the president’s executive order renaming it the “Gulf of America.”
When leaders try to silence reporters through intimidation, legal threats and denial of access, they are not protecting the country; they are protecting themselves from scrutiny. Journalists’ job is to publish the truth, even when inconvenient, and to expose those who would replace facts with propaganda.
The First Amendment is an integral part of the US Constitution that President Trump swore to “preserve, protect and defend.” He also signed an executive order on day one to “ensure that no Federal Government officer, employee, or agent engages in or facilitates any conduct that would unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen.” The president ran in part on a platform that said it would fiercely protect free speech.
The president must abide by his oath of office and his own executive order and ensure that First Amendment principles are forcefully upheld.
In a nation founded on freedom of speech, regardless of party or ideology, the government can never compel agreement with its viewpoint as a condition of access to information.
Trump has banned a major news organization, the Associated Press, from its customary access at the White House. This is wrong and should be reversed. At the same time, the Associated Press makes for a poor defender of free speech. The Intermountain Jewish News has highlighted inaccuracies in AP reporting of the war begun by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
We deeply value the freedom that allows us to critique the AP. Free speech is a right. It is also a responsibility, which, if AP upheld it, would give it a better argument against the Trump White House. The administration must lift the ban on AP. AP must be worthy of its profession.
© IJN 2025
