Jankowicz Statement on Trump’s Retaliation against the Associated Press

American Sunlight Project (ASP) CEO Nina Jankowicz released the following statement on White House Deputy Chief of Staff barring the Associated Press from the Oval Office, Air Force One.

“Trump's decision to retaliate against the Associated Press for using an accurate geographical name is straight out of the authoritarian playbook. When the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin’s government blocked access to independent news outlets that refused to call it a ‘special military operation.’ Now, the Trump White House is punishing a news organization for enforcing its editorial standards.

“Let’s be clear: this is not about misinformation. Misinformation is the unintentional spread of false or misleading content. There is nothing false or misleading about calling a body of water by the name recognized by the rest of the world. This is about power, using government authority to intimidate the press and dictate what is ‘acceptable’ reporting. This administration, which has so vociferously pretended to defend freedom of speech based on false claims of censorship, is currently standing in the way of America’s major newswire from reporting on the president.

“Free and independent journalism is essential to democracy. When officials start policing language and punishing media organizations for not toeing the line, we should all be alarmed. Americans should not have to look to foreign press outlets to get unbiased reporting about their own government, but that’s the road this administration is taking us down. We’ve seen where this leads.”