Washington DC - President Donald Trump can bar the Associated Press from some White House media events for now, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, pausing a lower court order to give access to the US news agency's journalists.

AP journalists and photographers have been barred from the Oval Office and from traveling on Air Force One since mid-February because of the news agency's decision to continue referring to the Gulf of Mexico, and not the "Gulf of America" as decreed by Trump.

In April, district court judge Trevor McFadden deemed that move a violation of the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and of the press.

But on Friday, a panel of judges with the Washington-based federal appeals court ruled that, pending appeal, the government could go ahead and bar AP from "restricted presidential spaces," which it said did not fall under First Amendment protections.

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"The White House therefore retains discretion to determine, including on the basis of viewpoint, which journalists will be admitted," the ruling said.

"Moreover, without a stay, the government will suffer irreparable harm because the injunction impinges on the President's independence and control over his private workspaces."

Following the ruling, Trump hailed on his Truth Social platform the "Big WIN over AP today."

"They refused to state the facts or the Truth on the GULF OF AMERICA. FAKE NEWS!!!"

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed the sentiment, posting to X, "VICTORY! As we've said all along, the Associated Press is not guaranteed special access to cover President Trump in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One, and in other sensitive locations."

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The AP, a 180-year-old news organization that has long been a pillar of US journalism, has so far refused to backtrack on its decision to continue referring to the "Gulf of Mexico."

In its style guide, it highlights that the Gulf of Mexico has "carried that name for more than 400 years" and the agency "will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen."

Trump has long had an antagonistic relationship with most mainstream news media, previously describing them as the "enemy of the people."

Since his return to the presidency in January, Trump administration has sought to radically restructure the way the White House is covered, stripping journalists of the nearly century-old power to decide who will be in the daily pool of reporters covering presidential events and favoring far-right podcasters and influencers.