Donald Trump seems averse to the commonly used phrase “What’s in the name?” The Republican is already setting his agenda for when he gets sworn in as the President of the United States. The 78-year-old president-elect might be keen on changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to something more “appropriate.”
In 2010, Stephen Colbert who is a comedian and talk show host, comedically suggested a change that could be implemented when it comes to the Gulf of Mexico. Colbert had previously jokingly called it the “Gulf of America.”
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During a recent press conference, Trump decided to express his opinion on the matter. The Republican addressed the possible name change while noting that it is “beautiful.” “We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring,” he added. He also noted that the revised name would be more “appropriate”.
Marjorie Taylor Greene who is a representative of the Republican party also chimed in about the matter. She took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to agree with the President re-elect while mentioning that renaming the Gulf would be “rightful.”
🚨 READ MY STATEMENT & BILL TEXT 🚨
Mexican cartels currently use the Gulf of Mexico to traffic humans, drugs, weapons, and God knows what else while the Mexican government allows them to do it.
The American people are footing the bill to protect and secure the maritime… pic.twitter.com/m0Nh3a6vuq
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) January 7, 2025
“It’s our gulf. The rightful name is the Gulf of America and it’s what the entire world should refer to it as,” Greene posted on the platform. She also urged Congress to pass the petition within 180 days.
If the Gulf of Mexico is renamed, the whole process will be overlooked by the Board of Geographic Names. According to set precedents, the board takes at least 6 months to completely assess and rename a place.
The board’s official website states the cases under which the name of a place could be changed. “Further, changing an existing name merely to correct or re-establish historical usage should not be a primary reason to change a name,” it reads. So a revision to the name of the Gulf of Mexico is possible if Trump puts his mind to it.
The idea of renaming the Gulf of Mexico could have originated from a fund that Stephen Colbert created more than a decade ago. Back in 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon spill occurred the talk show host urged the public to donate money to clean up the Gulf.
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Nearly 168 million gallons of oil made its way into the gulf back then. Colbert decided to name it the “Gulf of America Fund” back then. “I don’t think we can call it the Gulf of Mexico anymore,” he reasoned. “We broke it, we bought it,” the talk show host noted.
The Gulf of Mexico stretches over a span of 3,540 miles. It borders the southern part of America’s territory. More than half of the Gulf’s shoreline is bordered by Mexico. Interestingly, the Gulf of Mexico has been known by several names over the course of 6 centuries. It was once known as Golfo de Nueva España and even Mar Di Florida at one point.
