President Donald Trump defended barring the Associated Press from the Oval Office and other high-profile, limited media events until it recognized the “Gulf of America” in its coverage, his first public comments on his administration’s increasing public hostility toward the wire service.

The Associated Press has filed suit against three White House officials responsible for banning the organization’s reporters from the Oval Office and other spaces including the president’s aircraft in retaliation for the wire service’s refusal to fully acquiesce to President Donald Trump’s push to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.