Words, grammar, and syntax matter.
That depressingly simple statement of truth has largely been lost to modernity, where leftists want to insist “they/them” pronouns can refer to a singular person or that “Black” should be capitalized when describing black people, but not “white.”
Thank goodness the White House is pushing back against this insanity with President Donald Trump at the helm.
And no example paints a clearer picture of that ongoing fight than the current brewing feud between the Trump administration and the Associated Press.
The two sides have been locked in a fierce battle over what to call the body of water just south of Texas.
Trump, as he had mentioned in the lead-up to his resounding election win in 2024, signed an executive order renaming both Mt. McKinley (formerly Mt. Denali) and the Gulf of America (formerly the Gulf of Mexico).
The AP has taken particular umbrage with referring to the body of water as the Gulf of America, and the Trump team has responded by outright banning a reporter due to the outlet’s refusal to acknowledge the new name.
As is the case with most things Trump, this story took on a life of its own as establishment media allies leapt to the defense of the AP, lambasting Trump for trying to bully one of the largest and most influential outlets in the world.
Here’s my counter to those establishment allies: Who exactly keeps one of the largest and most influential outlets in the world in check? That’s a lot of power to wield unchecked, no?
Do you trust the mainstream media?
Turns out, the Trump administration somewhat agrees with that line of thinking, per Axios.
“One of the big reasons President Trump is limiting AP reporters’ White House access is to protest what aides see as years of liberal word choices that the wire service’s influential stylebook spread across mainstream media,” the outlet reported, citing top White House officials.
Axios added: “By spotlighting AP, Trump is amplifying Republican and conservative criticisms that the AP Stylebook, a first reference for most U.S. news organizations, shapes political dialogue by favoring liberal words and phrases concerning gender, immigration, race and law enforcement.”
Indeed, even conservative news outlets — such as the very one you’re on — use the AP Stylebook as a baseline reference (The Western Journal does not recognize “they/them” pronouns or capitalize “black” when referring to people, but we do adhere to certain dateline guidelines, for example) for many of their styling guidelines.
“This isn’t just about the Gulf of America,” White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich told Axios. “This is about AP weaponizing language through their stylebook to push a partisan worldview in contrast with the traditional and deeply held beliefs of many Americans and many people around the world.”
Lauren Easton, vice president of corporate communications at the AP, denied these allegations.
She claimed that the stylebook offers “guidance on issues brought to us by members and customers, and it is up to them what they choose to use. Again, this is guidance. It’s not surprising that political parties, organizations or even individuals may disagree with some entries. The Stylebook doesn’t align with any particular agenda.”
Ah, but guidance implies that there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about a particular issue. That, in and of itself, is a rather loaded term. Nobody wants to be “wrong,” and yet that’s exactly what these toothless “guidelines” are tacitly suggesting. That certainly feels like trying to “align with any particular agenda.”
Even Axios, an outlet that nominally aligns with the AP, couldn’t help but provide some examples of rather partisan language cherry-picking.
Perhaps the most egregious example of the AP clearly aligning with particular agendas lies in that aforementioned “Black/black” snafu.
“AP’s stylebook advises that ‘Black’ should be used for racial descriptions while the lowercase ‘black’ is considered just a color. AP says ‘white people’s skin color plays into systemic inequalities and injustices, and we want our journalism to robustly explore those problems. But capitalizing the term white, as is done by white supremacists, risks subtly conveying legitimacy to such beliefs.’”
That sound you heard was my eyeballs rolling so far back into my head, I was able to catch a glimpse of my medulla oblongata.
Other slanted “guidance” that clearly underlines a very specific ideology: The AP suggests against using “illegal immigrant” and instead to use “illegal” to only describe “immigration” (who is immigrating, AP?), as well as not providing balanced coverage of transgenderism issues.
The jig is up, AP. President Trump’s team knows full well the power you guys wield (and how you wield it) and is going to nip this in the bud.
Trump’s well on his way to making America great again.
If he wins this war with the AP, Trump will at least make the American language great again — and that’s no small accomplishment given the AP’s widespread influence.
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