• by Ray Schultz , February 16, 2025

Axios is going along with the effort to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico. 

The publisher has announced it will comply with the Trump administration’s decision to rename the “Gulf of Mexico” the “Gulf of America,” saying its audience is mostly U.S.-based compared to other media outlets, The Hill reports. 

“Our standard is to use ‘Gulf of America (renamed by U.S. from Gulf of Mexico)’ in our reporting because our audience is mostly U.S.-based compared to other publishers with international audiences,” says a statement on X. 

However Axios adds that “the government should never dictate how any news organization makes editorial decisions.”

This apparently refers to the tension between the White House and Associated Press. 

An AP photographer was blocked from boarding Air Force One, and last week an AP reporter was excluded from an executive order signing over the same issue. 

“The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America,” White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich said on X.

 But AP calls this a violation of the First Amendment. 

Despite its conversion to the Gulf of America, Axios says, “The AP and all news organizations should be ree to report as they see fit. This is a bedrock of a free press and durable democracy.” 

AP has observed that the executive order to call the Gulf the Gulf of America “only carries authority” in the United States.”