WASHINGTON — In the wake of his inauguration, President Donald Trump announced plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” reaffirming an idea he initially expressed during a press conference earlier in the month.
Trump emphasized his vision for the nation, stating, “America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on Earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world.” He added, “A short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.”
This initiative marks another attempt by Trump to redefine the geographical narrative of the Western Hemisphere. Throughout his political career, he has made controversial remarks about various countries, referring to Canada as the “51st State,” urging Denmark to consider relinquishing Greenland, and calling for Panama to return control of the Panama Canal, which he also mentioned in his inaugural speech.
The topic of renaming the Gulf of Mexico arises from ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Mexico that have been a feature of Trump’s presidency since his 2016 campaign. Issues surrounding border security and tariffs on imports have led to frequent clashes, including Trump’s commitment to constructing a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, a project which culminated in the establishment or renovation of approximately 450 miles of barrier during his presidency.
The Gulf of Mexico, which is often dubbed the United States’ “Third Coast” due to its expanse across five southeastern states, receives another name in Mexican vernacular: “El Golfo de México.” Furthermore, there is a notable distinction in the names given to the river that forms the boundary between Texas and several Mexican states; Americans refer to it as the Rio Grande, while Mexicans call it the Rio Bravo.
As to whether Trump can unilaterally change the name of the Gulf of Mexico, it is a complex issue that requires national and international consensus. The International Hydrographic Organization, which encompasses both the U.S. and Mexico, plays a pivotal role in surveying and naming bodies of water globally, acknowledging that varying names for the same water bodies can exist in different countries’ records.
Changing a name can be more straightforward if the landmark lies entirely within a single nation’s territory. For instance, in 2015, then-President Barack Obama authorized a name change for Mount McKinley, North America’s tallest peak, to Denali, a decision Trump has since sought to reverse.
Following Trump’s recent comments, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia voiced her intention to draft legislation aimed at renaming the Gulf of Mexico during an interview, highlighting the need for associated funding to update maps and policy materials across federal agencies.
Historically, the Gulf of Mexico has been known by this name for over four hundred years, the designation believed to stem from a Native American city called “Mexico.”
Similar proposals have arisen in the past; in 2012, a Mississippi legislator suggested that sections of the gulf near the state’s shores be renamed “Gulf of America,” a proposal the bill’s author later termed a “joke.” Moreover, in a separate incident, comedian Stephen Colbert humorously suggested renaming the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, quipping, “We broke it, we bought it.”
The discussion over names extends beyond American waters. There exists a long-standing dispute regarding the name of the Sea of Japan, with differing views between Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and Russia about its nomenclature, lending to tensions stemming from historical contexts. As of 2020, there has been an effort among member states of the International Hydrographic Organization to transition away from names towards numerical identifiers for geographic data.
The name Persian Gulf has been established since the sixteenth century; however, in many Middle Eastern nations, references to it as simply “Gulf” or “Arabian Gulf” are more prevalent. The Iranian government even threatened legal action against Google in 2012 over the omission of the body of water from their maps.
Discussions of geographical names are not limited to Trump’s administration. In documents obtained from a hack of her campaign chairman’s email, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was recorded in 2013 asserting that, according to China’s claim over the South China Sea, the U.S. might have the right to rename the Pacific Ocean the “American Sea” post World War II.
