Axios to use 'Gulf of America' in compliance with Trump administration

Axios has announced it will comply with the Trump administration's decision to rename the "Gulf of Mexico" the "Gulf of America" in its reporting, saying its audience is mostly U.S.-based compared to other media outlets.

"Our standard is to use ‘Gulf of America (renamed by U.S. from Gulf of Mexico)’ in our reporting because our audience is mostly U.S.-based compared to other publishers with international audiences," said a statement from Axios released on the social platform X.

"At the same time, the government should never dictate how any news organization makes editorial decisions. The AP and all news organizations should be free to report as they see fit," the statement added.

Axios's announcement comes a day after the White House said it would limit the Associated Press' access to the Oval Office and Air Force One over its decision not to use "Gulf of America" in its reporting.

“The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America,” White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich wrote in a post Friday on X.

This warning was an escalation of a brooding conflict between the Trump administration and the wire service this week.

In a statement to The Hill late Friday, the AP said, “Freedom of speech is a pillar of American democracy and a core value of the American people."

“The actions taken to restrict AP’s coverage of presidential events because of how we refer to a geographic location chip away at this important right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution for all Americans,” a spokesperson for the outlet added.

Following the White House announcement, an AP journalist was barred from attending a ceremony in the Oval Office on Friday afternoon. 

The conflict began after the AP's Jan 23 guidance on Trump’s executive order regarding the Gulf, saying it would refer to the body of water long called the Gulf of Mexico “by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen.”