The group representing White House journalists said Monday it was disturbed that the Trump administration barred any wire service news reporters from traveling with the president on Air Force One to the Middle East. No reporters from the Associated Press, Bloomberg, or Reuters were on the plane, where presidents often take questions from traveling members of the press, the AP reports. "For the first time since the White House press corps started traveling with American presidents abroad, no wire service reporter is aboard Air Force One today," the White House Correspondents' Association said in a statement.
"Their reports are distributed quickly to thousands of news outlets and millions of readers throughout the world every day, so all have equal access to coverage of the presidency," the WHCA said. "This change is a disservice to every American who deserves to know what their highest elected leader is up to, as quickly as possible."
The White House has been fighting in court with the AP since it blocked the news service from covering smaller "pool" events after it decided not to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America—as Trump had called for in an executive order. In response to a ruling in that case, the White House instituted a new media policy that lumped the wire services in with print reporters in a rotation for space on Air Force One or Oval Office events. A Reuters reporter accompanied the president when he traveled to Pope Francis' funeral.
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