The Trump White House is not backing down when it comes to the Associated Press (AP) and the media outlet's refusal to refer to the gulf formerly known as Mexico as the "Gulf of America." As RedState has been reporting, the White House disinvited the AP from participating in the White House press pool, thus restricting AP reporters from accessing gaggles in the Oval Office. 

During the Biden administration, not having access to the Oval Office wouldn't have been much of a penalty to a media organization as there wasn't likely to be anything particularly noteworthy or even coherent coming from the previous president as he went about his business. Everything is different, of course, with Donald Trump, and many of the more important soundbites coming from the White House now originate in the Oval Office. Thus, the AP has been well and truly spanked for not coming into alignment with the federal government's "Gulf of America" terminology.

Dear Associated Press: It Is Not a Constitutional Crisis When You Are Disinvited From the Oval Office

WATCH: Karoline Leavitt Shuts Down CNN's Kaitlan Collins Over White House Press Access

Up until this point, the AP had only had its access to the Oval Office—plus any other White House spaces where the president might offer some off-the-cuff remarks—restricted. It's important to note that, despite the cries from the left and perturbed CNN-types, AP reporters covering Trump still have their hard passes to the White House and their places in the White House briefing room. 

As White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has had to remind the media in recent weeks, it's a privilege, not a right, to be at the White House. It is hardly a constitutional crisis if AP reporters don't get access to every nook and cranny of the White House, and it's gratifying to see a legacy media outlet actually held accountable for its misdeeds. 

The AP has decided to engage in a game of chicken with the Trump White House, refusing to change their language about the Gulf. Presumably, the outlet thought the White House would cave after the likes of CNN's Kaitlan Collins and Brian Stelter gnashed their teeth over AP's mini exile. That's how much influence the media doesn't have these days, and a White House aide weighed in Friday, saying that AP would now also not be participating in travel on Air Force One.

The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America. This decision is not just divisive, but it also exposes the Associated Press' commitment to misinformation. While their right to irresponsible and dishonest reporting is protected by the First Amendment, it does not ensure their privilege of unfettered access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One. Going forward, that space will now be opened up to the many thousands of reporters who have been barred from covering these intimate areas of the administration. Associate Press journalists and photographers will retain their credentials to the White House complex.

Much like its overlords in the Democrat Party, the AP is flailing about and doesn't seem to know how to navigate Trump 2.0. And picking the Gulf of America as its hill to die certainly merits their outcast status. Google is calling it the Gulf of America. Apple is calling it the Gulf of America. The National Weather Service is calling it the Gulf of America. The National Hurricane Center is calling it the Gulf of America.

It's only a matter of time before the AP caves, of course, because sitting at the kids' table gets old after a while. They may fancy themselves as the last bastion of journalistic integrity, but in reality, the AP is just another legacy media outlet throwing a tantrum over its dwindling influence during The Golden Age.