White House bars AP reporter over ‘Gulf of America’ renaming
President Donald Trump’s administration said the Associated Press was barred from a press briefing over their style decisions around renaming the Gulf of Mexico.
Athens Rep. Mike Collins, never short on speaking his mind, used the newly-named (only in the U.S.) Gulf of America to take a shot Wednesday at the LGBTQ community.
Collins took to X, formerly Twitter, to tweet ‘Stop deadnaming the Gulf of America,’ ultimately saying to stop calling it the Gulf of Mexico, which it has been since the 1500s.
Deadnaming refers to calling a transgender person by their birth name after they have chosen a new name.
Gulf of America? What happened to the Gulf of Mexico?
On Jan. 20, shortly after inauguration, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. It is only recognized as such in America and the U.S. has no bearing on what it can be called by the rest of the world.
Mexico said it would not recognize it as the Gulf of America.
“We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring,” Trump said in a Jan. 7 news conference at his his Florida home at Mar-a-Lago. “That covers a lot of territory. The Gulf of America, what a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate.”
What is Deadnaming?
Deadnaming can be harmful to the trans community, USA Today says, because it’s a matter of physical safety.
“It isn’t just a matter of comfort (for trans people), it’s a matter of physical safety,” Olivia Hunt, the policy director at the National Center for Transgender Equality told USA TODAY last March. “How you address someone tells them a lot about how you view them as a person and also communicates to other people how they should treat that person.”
Who is Mike Collins?
Rep. Mike Collins represents District 10, which covers all of Athens and south, nearly to Milledgeville, east nearly to Washington, north to Commerce and west of Statham.
He has been a staunch Trump supporter and has backed many of his executive orders while lobbying for the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to continue gutting the American government. He also praised the Laken Riley Act, the first bill signed into law at the start of Trump’s second term.
Ryne Dennis is the Deep South Connect Team Editor for Gannett/USA Today. Find him on X @RyneDennis and email at [email protected].
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Publish date : 2025-02-13 00:47:00
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