President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday, Jan. 7, during a news conference from Mar-a-Lago the Gulf of Mexico will be getting a new name.
“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.
“The Gulf of America, what a beautiful name, and it’s appropriate” Trump said.
Trump said Gulf of Mexico should be renamed to 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 that covers a lot of territory, the Gulf of America.
“What a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate. It’s appropriate,” Trump said.
Reaction to changing name of Gulf of Mexico comes fast on social media
Mississippi bill proposed changing name to Gulf of America
It’s not the first time renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America has come up.
In 2012, Democrat state Rep. Steve Holland of Mississippi proposed renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, or at least the portions that touch the state.
Holland said the bill, meant to mock other bills drilling down on immigration, is getting a lot of attention, which was the point in the first place. He did not expect it to go anywhere, according to abcnews.
‘Mexico is in trouble, a lot of trouble’
Trump’s announcement in favor of changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico came while he was talking about Mexico’s problems.
“We have a massive deficit with Mexico, and we help Mexico a lot,” Trump said.
“They’re essentially run by the cartels, and can’t let that happen. Mexico is really in trouble, a lot of trouble, very dangerous place. We’re going to be changing, sort of the opposite of Biden, where he’s closing everything up, essentially getting rid of $50 to $60 trillion worth of assets.
“Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country. They can stop them.
“We’re approaching the dawn of America’s golden age. It’s going to be a golden age for America.”
How long has the Gulf of Mexico been known by that name?
The name, Gulf of Mexico, has been in use for more than four centuries, taking its name from the Native American city of “Mexico.”
But there have been more than 30 variations for the body of water we know today — and watch anxiously during hurricane season — as the Gulf of Mexico.
A 1584 map uses “Mare de Nort” or “Sea of the North” for the Gulf.
Baptiste Boazio, the illustrator and map maker of Francis Drake’s Caribbean cruise of attacks in the 1580s, used “Gulf of Mexico” on his map “View of Entire Route of Sir Francis Drake’s West Indian Voyage.”
A 1630 map called the body of water “Gulf of New Spain.”
According to the United States Geological Survey, among the other names the Gulf of Mexico has been called include:
-
Le Golfe De La Nouvelle Espaigne
This story was updated to add new information.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump: Rename Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America