President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the Gulf of Mexico will be renamed the “Gulf of America.”
Such drastic measures would affect Texas, which has about 570 miles of coastline along the Gulf Coast.
President Trump gave his trademark wide-ranging, unstructured coverage, complaining about the country of Mexico and perceived problems usually attributed to its neighbors, such as Mexico’s drug problem. The name change was announced during the press conference. US.
“American Bay.” What a beautiful name,” President Trump said.
But does the president have the authority to change the name? yes. In a sense.
“He may actually direct federal agencies to use the name Gulf of America,” said John Taylor, chair of UTSA’s political geography department.
Taylor added that while the name change doesn’t solve any problems, it signals that President Trump may be open to expanding the U.S. border, as he has been doing prominently in recent days.
“When you’re talking about an invasion of Panama, an invasion of Greenland, an economic takeover of Canada, it’s easy to see a new and burgeoning form of Manifest Destiny,” Taylor said. said.
The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world, covering approximately 600,000 square miles.
Over the course of history, it has been identified by several names, including “Golfo de Mexico”. Its origins date back to the mid-16th century, when Spain occupied areas of Cuba, Mexico, and the United States.
Former talk show host and comedian Stephen Colbert proposed a name change after the 2010 BP oil spill. This happened on Comedy Central’s show “The Colbert Report.”
And a name change has been proposed at least once in recent years, when Democratic state Rep. Steve Holland proposed a bill that would rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”
Trump supporters have already expressed support for the name change. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) expressed her support on social media. She said she has directed staff to begin drafting legislation to change the name.
