Donald Trump Floats Changing Name of Gulf of Mexico

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President-elect Donald Trump said that he will change the name of the "Gulf of Mexico" to the "Gulf of America."

Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesperson, Steven Cheung, and his transition team for comment.

Why It Matters Trump heavily focused a lot of his presidential campaign on illegal immigration and border security as well as tariffs against Mexico. His comments follow record illegal crossings at the southwest border with Mexico during President Joe Biden's term. One of the key policies was mass deportations of the millions of migrants in the country illegally.

Border crossings have steadily declined since an executive order from Biden in June which severely limited asylum entries into the U.S. Over 740 removal flights to 160-plus countries have been carried out since the rule was introduced.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. A Google Maps image of the Gulf of Mexico, with the words crossed out with Trump's suggested... President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. A Google Maps image of the Gulf of Mexico, with the words crossed out with Trump's suggested replacement "Gulf of America." More AP Photo/Evan Vucci/Google Maps What To Know At a press conference held in his Mar-a-Lago home, Trump told reporters that his administration would change the water body's name to the "Gulf of America," which he said, "has a beautiful ring" to it, "because we do most of the work there and it's ours."

"That covers a lot of territory," Trump said. "The Gulf of America, what a beautiful name, and it's appropriate."

The Gulf of Mexico is surrounded mostly by North America, with bounds on the northeast, north and northwest by the United States, particularly Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. The southwest and south are covered by Mexican states as well as Cuba. The body of water was used as a trade route as early as the Mayan civilizations, which started around 2,000 BCE. The Gulf, however, remained nameless until the early 1540s, according to the Texas State Historical Association.

In 2012, a Democratic Mississippi state representative had introduced a bill to call the Gulf of Mexico that is bordered by the state to the "Gulf of America." The bill, which was introduced by Representative Stephen Holland, died in committee a month later.

Trump called his proposed name change the "opposite of Biden." The President announced his decision to ban new offshore oil and gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters. The president-elect was vocal in his support of the U.S. oil and natural gas industry and pledged during his 2024 campaign that the country would "drill, baby, drill" if he won the White House.

"We have a massive deficit with Mexico," Trump said at the press conference. "We help Mexico a lot. They're essentially run by the cartels, can't let that happen. Mexico's really in trouble, a lot of trouble. Very dangerous place."

President-elect Trump has said he will impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office. A tariff is a tax imposed by a government on imported goods and services. It is used to increase the cost of foreign products, making them less competitive compared to domestic products.

He pledged to use tariffs to boost U.S. businesses—proposing a 60 percent tariff on goods from China and a 10 percent tariff on everything else the United States imports. A 25 percent tax would be imposed on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10 percent tariff on goods from China. Trump said this will be one of his first executive orders when he takes office on January 20.

Trump went on at the press conference to say that "Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country."

On immigration, experts have told Newsweek previously that while the president may be able to enact some policy changes, it would be up to Congress to bring about comprehensive immigration reform.

What People Are Saying President-elect Donald Trump at his press conference Tuesday: "We want to get along with everybody but it takes two to tango."

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, on X: "Every day the men and women of CBP are protecting American communities by targeting and disrupting the smuggling of bad actors and narcotics by transnational criminal organizations."

What Happens Next It is unclear if Trump will really work to change the name of the water body after he is sworn into office on January 20. He said that the press conference he would be announcing the change "at a future date."

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