NEW: The AP says that its reporter was blocked from an Oval Office event today because they refuse to follow Donald Trump’s directive to rename the Gulf of Mexico the ‘Gulf of America.’ This is a clear violation of the First Amendment. Full statement from Associated Press Executive Editor Julie Pace: “As a global news organization, The Associated Press informs billions of people around the world every day with factual, nonpartisan journalism. Today, we were informed by the White House that if AP did not align its editorial standards with President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, AP would be barred from accessing an event in the Oval Office. This afternoon AP’s reporter was blocked from attending an executive order signing. It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism. Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP’s speech not only severely impedes the public’s access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment.”