Karoline Leavitt Goes Off on CNN's Kaitlan Collins After Gulf of America Question: 'Let Me Just Set the Record Straight'

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt isn’t letting herself be pushed around.

In just over three weeks at the podium, she has taken on House Democrats, Senate Democrats, and the Washington press corps, which largely aligns with the establishment media.

During a news briefing on Wednesday, Leavitt engaged in a sharp exchange with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, making it clear that her approach wasn’t changing anytime soon.

Collins questioned Leavitt about which White House official decided to bar The Associated Press from covering an Oval Office event on Monday afternoon and a gathering in the Diplomatic Reception Room on Tuesday evening.

According to the AP itself, reporters were denied access by the Trump administration due to the news organization’s refusal to use the term “Gulf of America” for the body of water Trump renamed by executive order on his first day in office.

Leavitt did not directly reveal who made the decision but left no doubt that she stood by it.

“First of all, let me just set the record straight. It is a privilege to cover this White House. It is a privilege to be the White House press secretary.

“And nobody has the right to go into the Oval Office and ask a president of the United States questions. That is an invitation that is given … We reserve the right to decide who gets to go into the Oval Office, and you all have credentials to be here, including The Associated Press, who is in this briefing room today.”

The video is below:

Collins, seemingly looking for a confrontation, pressed further, implying that the decision contradicted the administration’s stance on the First Amendment and press freedom.

Leavitt didn’t waver.

She pointed out that the new name is now the official designation used by the U.S. Department of the Interior and has also been adopted by Google for U.S.-based users.

“I was very upfront in my briefing on day one, that if we feel that there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable, and it is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America, and I am not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that, but that is what it is,” she stated.

“And it’s very important to this administration that we get that right, not just for people here at home, but also for the rest of the world.”

The AP justified its decision not to adopt the new name in a Jan. 23 announcement, explaining that its global audience necessitated consistency to prevent confusion.

“The Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years. The Associated Press will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen,” the statement read.

“As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences.”

However, the AP did accept Trump’s re-renaming of Alaska’s Mount McKinley, which had been changed to “Denali” in 2015 by then-President Barack Obama.

The AP reasoned that because the mountain is within U.S. territory, the president has the authority to establish its official name.

While the AP’s arguments might have a veneer of logic, the political implications are undeniable.

This is the same organization that, during the racial unrest following George Floyd’s death, changed its style guide to capitalize the “b” in “Black” when referring to racial identity.

That move was clearly political and even contradicted established English grammar rules, where adjectives are only capitalized when derived from proper nouns. Yet, the AP seemed unbothered.

In other words, when it aligns with a progressive cause, the AP has no problem altering its style guide. But when it involves Trump, suddenly it’s about historical precedent and clarity.

Does anyone at AP or elsewhere truly believe that referring to the vast body of water bordering the southern U.S., Mexico, and western Cuba by a different name would create confusion?

(If anything, Trump’s designation is more geographically precise—he named it “Gulf of America,” not “Gulf of the United States of America,” which makes sense given that it borders much of North America.)

For years, conservative Americans have witnessed the media’s bias. Since Trump’s 2015 presidential announcement, that bias has become even more blatant—impossible to ignore.

The AP can frame its rejection of “Gulf of America” as a commitment to tradition and global readership. As a private entity, it has the right to do so.

But it should also own up to the fact that its decision was political.

And it certainly shouldn’t expect the Trump administration to overlook the reality that one of the most powerful news organizations, whose style guide influences media nationwide, made a choice that is openly adversarial to the president.

If there was any doubt about that on Wednesday, Karoline Leavitt put it to rest.