AP photographer testifies on White House’s ban: ‘We’re basically dead in the water on major news stories’

A veteran AP photographer spent more than an hour on Thursday explaining to a federal judge in Washington, DC, how the news organization’s ability to compete in its coverage of the Trump presidency has been “destroyed” by the White House’s decision to limit its access to presidential events, the Oval Office and Air Force One.

A veteran AP photographer spent more than an hour on Thursday explaining to a federal judge in Washington, DC, how the news organization’s ability to compete in its coverage of the Trump presidency has been “destroyed” by the White House’s decision to limit its access to presidential events, the Oval Office and Air Force One. Evan Vucci, the chief photographer for the AP in Washington, testified during a hearing in his company’s legal challenge to the White House ban that since the organization has had its access severely curtailed, it’s “really struggling to keep up” with its competitors, particularly during major news events that have happened during the opening weeks of President Donald Trump’s second term. “It’s hurting us big time,” Vucci said at one point in response to questions from the news organization’s attorney, Charles Tobin. “We’re basically dead in the water on major news stories.” The AP, one of the world’s biggest news outlets and wire service that’s used by local publications around the world, was singled out by the White House over its refusal to substitute “Gulf of America” for “Gulf of Mexico.” The issue was underscored, Vucci said, during the contentious Oval Office meeting last month between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The administration’s decision to ban Washington-based AP photographers and reporters from the Oval Office meant the organization had to rely on one of its foreign-based photographers to capture visuals of the event. But that person, Vucci said, lacked the experience and skill he has that allow him to transmit photos back to his editors for wider distribution within seconds. The foreign-based photographer was able to attend the event as part of the group of reporters covering Zelensky, not Trump specifically.