Trump Renames Gulf of Mexico, Sparks International Debate
Justin Lotito
Staff Writer
On February 9, United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order that officially renamed the ‘Gulf of Mexico’ to the ‘Gulf of America,’ reports the White House
Trump signed an executive order titled “Restoring American Names That Honor American Greatness.” This order renames the Gulf of Mexico and restores historical names to other key landmarks. According to BBC News, Mt. Denali in Alaska will revert to its former name, Mt. McKinley, and Fort Liberty in North Carolina will once again be known as Fort Bragg. Originally named after Confederate General Braxton Bragg, the fort was renamed under U.S. President Joseph Biden’s administration, reports NPR. The name will now honor World War II P.V.T first class Roland L. Bragg, the U.S. Army announced.
Reactions to Trump’s new changes have been mixed both domestically and internationally.
An area of controversy revolves around Google Maps. Google Maps updated the Gulf’s name once Trump’s order went into effect. This resulted in users leaving negative posts on the Gulf of America, BBC News reports. To combat this, Google disabled posting on the Gulf of America, and allegedly deleted negative reviews.
Mexico has threatened to take Google to court over the name change, The Washington Post reports.
“Google has no right to rename Mexico’s continental shelf, nor does it have any right to rename Cuba’s continental shelf, because the Gulf of Mexico is divided among the three countries,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said.
Google’s update will be unique to different areas of the world. U.S. citizens will see the new name, while Mexican residents will still see Gulf of Mexico. Outside of these countries, the rest of the world will see both Gulf of Mexico and Gulf of America when they zoom in on the area.
Google’s Vice President of External Government Affairs and Public Policy explained the changes were “consistent with our normal operating procedure to reflect on our platforms geographic names prescribed by different authoritative government sources, including where authoritative sources may differ.”
The name change also caused controversy inside of the White House.
The Associated Press reports they were barred from attending multiple White House events. This began when the news agency did not update their style book to reflect the president’s new name for the Gulf of Mexico.
“We’re going to keep them out until such time as they agree that it’s the Gulf of America,” Trump explained to reporters. “We’re very proud of this country, and we want it to be the Gulf of America.”
Along with being blocked from White House coverage, the AP will be barred from attending press gatherings aboard Air Force One, Reuters reports.
“This is about the government telling the public and press what words to use and retaliating if they do not follow government orders,” Associated Press spokesperson Lauren Easton said, reports The Washington Post. Easton’s comments reflect a fear for media censorship under the Trump Administration.
Other news agencies will continue to call the Gulf of Mexico its established name, including Reuters, which will continue to call it the Gulf of Mexico and indicate the context of Trump’s order when needed.
Trump’s rebranding of the Gulf of Mexico remains just of one of the international controversies that has taken place since his return to the Oval Office. On February 19, Trump referred to Ukraine’s President Zelensky as “a dictator without elections,” Axios reports. Trump has also withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, laid off workers from the Office of USAID, and has made other decisions that affect the U.S.’ foreign policy. As Trump’s return to office unfolds, his next international action remains uncertain.
Image courtesy of Getty Images.
