Why the Press is Too Weak to Stop Trump from Banning the AP

The media keeps losing fights with Trump

The Associated Press may not have the New York Times’s brand recognition or the Washington Post's august history. Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Hanks, Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo are not playing AP journalists in movies. However, the AP is probably the country's most important and impactful news organization. As a wire service, the AP’s reporting is blasted to every outlet in the country. Reading a story about national news on your local news site? It’s from the AP. Hearing a summary of what’s happening in Washington on the local news or during drive-time radio? That’s from the AP. Their position in the White House press corps is so esteemed that the AP’s White House reporter has historically been entrusted with starting and ending the White House press briefing.

Donald Trump has banned the AP from covering the White House, attending the briefings, or traveling on Air Force One. Two of their reporters tried to participate in Trump’s event at Mar-a-Lago earlier this week and were denied entry. Trump is punishing the AP for the sin of refusing to use the term “Gulf of America” to describe the body of water heretofore known as the “Gulf of Mexico.” The AP’s rationale (other than the fact that randomly renaming a body of water is absurd) is that they are an international news organization and, therefore, need to use the internationally recognized term.

The Trump White House is relishing this fight and has no intention of backing down. At the press conference that the AP was not allowed to attend, Trump said:

I just say that we're going to keep them out until such time as they agree that it's the Gulf of America.

The AP is standing firm. The White House Correspondents’ Association is pleading their case to the powers that be inside the White House. But Trump is winning this fight. The press corps looks feckless, lacks leverage, and is losing yet another battle with Trump.

For decades, presidents hesitated to pick a fight with the press — for fear of sparking bad coverage that could stymie their agenda and hurt their standing. Yet, the press seems powerless when it comes to confronting Trump. Here are some reasons why:

1. A Collective Action Problem

Collectively, the media is powerful. They could band together to deny Trump the coverage he so desperately covets. This is precisely what Ron Fournier, a former AP bureau chief, called for on X yesterday:

Trump doubled down on his cancel-culture, state-speech attack on the AP — and the rest of the media remained cowed. Their morbidity is profound: He will come for them, too. Words aren’t enough: Boycott the briefings, deny the WH a platform for its lies.

But no one is doing that. Several media outlets issued statements in support, but none have boycotted a briefing or used the power of their platform to hold Trump meaningfully accountable. There are two reasons for this.