President-elect Donald Trump introduced Tuesday that he desires to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” as a result of “it’s ours.”
“We’re going to be altering the identify of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a gorgeous ring that covers plenty of territory,” Trump mentioned of the ocean basin that borders 5 U.S. states to the north and Mexico to the south.
It’s carried some model of the Gulf of Mexico identify, given to it by Spanish colonizers, for the reason that 1540s.
“The Gulf of America ― what a gorgeous identify. And it’s acceptable,” Trump mentioned at a information convention, additionally asserting: “We do a lot of the work there. It’s ours.”
One of many United States’ largest impacts on the Gulf was the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, when a BP-operated prospect precipitated the largest marine oil spill in petroleum business historical past. Regardless of the occasion constituting one of many largest environmental disasters in world historical past, Trump weakened regulations to stop future spills throughout his first time period within the White Home.
Trump’s identify change would haven’t any sensible impact on the Gulf’s maritime boundaries between the U.S. and Mexico, and in observe, no nation can personal worldwide waters. And if other renaming efforts supply any indication, the price of figuring out, modifying and eradicating property referring to the Gulf of Mexico may carry a price ticket within the multimillions.
Not lengthy after Trump’s remarks Tuesday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) announced she would file laws to make Trump’s proposed identify change. Past that, it’s unclear how a possible renaming course of would play out.
Trump shouldn’t be the primary one to pitch the brand new identify, however he stands out as the first one to take action severely. In 2012, former Mississippi state Rep. Stephen Holland, a Democrat, introduced legislation proposing the identical identify change. He later mentioned he launched the invoice as a little bit of satire to criticize his Republican colleagues’ anti-Mexican sentiments.
Trump additionally vowed final month to rename Denali, Alaskan natives’ identify for the tallest mountain in North America, to Mount McKinley. The mountain was known as Mount McKinley till 2015, when then-President Barack Obama sided with native Alaskans’ objection to the identify honoring former President William McKinley.
“They took his identify off Mount McKinley,” Trump said in a speech. “He was an important president,” he continued, including that his administration will “convey again the identify of Mount McKinley as a result of I feel he deserves it.”
McKinley by no means visited the mountain and had no vital historic connection to both Denali or Alaska, Obama famous when he signed off on the change.
Trump has additionally mentioned he’ll reverse Fort Liberty’s 2021 identify change from Fort Bragg, which was initially named after accomplice commander Braxton Bragg.
“I feel I simply realized the key to successful completely and by huge margins. I’m going to vow to you … that we’re going to vary the identify again to Fort Bragg,” he mentioned in October.
Trump’s proposed identify change for the Gulf comes a day after he advised the USA ought to purchase Canada, claiming “Many individuals in Canada LOVE being the 51st State.”
