Trump is mad that the AP, in its widely used style guide, correctly notes that Trump's decree does not force other nations to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America." So he is banning the AP from participating in the White House press pool.
If this sounds petty, that's because it is. But it's also dangerous. This is the sort of thing you see in autocracies.
It's also going to test the WHCA, because if Trump can do this to the largest news organization in the world and get away with it, he can do it to any and all of us.
So far, we’ve issued strongly worded statements, but I’m not sure that’s ever going to work. But there's something that might:
Trump needs and wants the reach of the real media, not just his fan club. We should stand by our colleagues at the AP, which is actually an alma mater for many of us.
We should tell the White House that if the AP is not invited to participate in his photo ops, then we’re not interested, either.
Trump enjoys punching down on and mocking reporters who nevertheless have to call him “Mr. President.” We don’t have to let him. Tell them we’re happy to send in a pool camera instead, and he’s free to say whatever he wants for however long he wants.
It was pretty obvious during his campaign he was going to try this little dictator stuff with the WHCA sooner or later. Well, it came sooner.