Why did Donald Trump ban the Associated Press from the White House?

Trump banned the Associated Press because they refused to adopt his preferred name change from 'Gulf of Mexico' to 'Gulf of America.' In his defense, Trump claimed the AP was refusing to comply with 'what the law is,' though no such law exists renaming this body of water. Trump explicitly stated he would maintain the ban 'until such time as they agree that it's the Gulf of America,' making press access contingent on adopting his terminology. This represents an unprecedented attempt to control journalistic language and reporting, with Trump leveraging White House access as a tool to force compliance with his preferred narrative.