‘It would be pretty, no?’: Trump’s wild Gulf of America idea is destroyed by Mexico’s president
In a new act of absurdity, Donald Trump declared that he will be renaming the Gulf of Mexico in what appears to be a bid for regional dominance, and President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico was unfazed.
At a press conference Trump held at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump boldly declared that he’d rename the Gulf of Mexico. “We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring that covers a lot of territory.” Whether or not this would turn out to be a passing joke from Trump is unknown.
Sheinbaum decided to humor Trump with her own response. “The United Nations recognizes the name Gulf of Mexico. But next,” she gestured to a map from 1607. “Why don’t we call it Mexican America? It would be pretty, no?” Mexico’s president cited that in 1607, the Apatzingán Constitution referred to the entire North American continent as “Mexican America.”
Who can rename the Gulf of Mexico?
Spanish explorers and cartographers in the 1540s called it “Golfo de Nueva España” or “Golfo de México.” These two names directly translate to the “Gulf of Mexico,” which international organizations formally recognize in writing. Technically, Donald Trump could have Congress spend money on a name change for the Gulf of Mexico. This still wouldn’t mean that other countries will accept the name “Gulf of America” as an international norm.
This isn’t the first time Trump has made comments with expansionist undertones. Trump has recently promoted regaining control over the Panama Canal and purchasing Greenland from Denmark. He doesn’t rule out economic and military action against taking the Panama Canal, which had been gifted by former US President Jimmy Carter to Panama. Even if all this were to be taken as a strange joke from the President-elect, some of his greatest MAGA supporters are ready to make his wishes come true.
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