This one sounds like Trump could actually make it happen if he were so inclined.
It seems any name change would by symbolic.
From my new best friend Grok.
The United States does not “own” the Gulf of Mexico in the traditional sense of ownership. Instead, the Gulf of Mexico is a body of water bordered by the United States, Mexico, and Cuba. Here’s how jurisdiction and rights are delineated:
-
Jurisdiction: The U.S. has jurisdiction over parts of the Gulf of Mexico through its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which extends 200 nautical miles from the coast. This gives the U.S. rights to explore and exploit natural resources within this zone, but it does not mean ownership of the water itself. The U.S. federal government manages the seas and submerged lands of the Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico for resource exploration and exploitation, particularly for oil and gas, but this is under international maritime law, not ownership.
-
Shared Waters: The Gulf of Mexico is shared among the U.S., Mexico, and Cuba. Mexico and the U.S. share approximately equal lengths of coastline along the Gulf, with Mexico having slightly more. The U.S. states that border the Gulf include Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, while Mexico’s coastline borders the states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo.
-
Sovereignty and Rights: The U.S., like other countries, has sovereignty over its territorial waters, which extend 12 nautical miles from its baseline, and exercises specific rights in the EEZ under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, although the U.S. has not ratified this treaty.
-
Public Opinion and Controversy: There have been discussions and controversies about the naming and the perceived ownership of the Gulf, particularly highlighted by political statements suggesting renaming the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America,” but these do not change the legal status or the shared nature of the Gulf.
In summary, while the U.S. has significant rights over parts of the Gulf of Mexico, particularly in terms of resource exploitation, the Gulf is not owned by any single country but is a shared body of water with international boundaries and agreements dictating usage rights.
Sounds good to me. Not very useful, but good.
Call it Gulf of MAGA for all I care.
Maybe a gig at Mexico over the immigration situation?
Wasteful spending… DOGE should end it
Almost definitely.
The president-elect subsequently decried the Mexican government for allowing migrants to “pour” into the United States, saying Mexico “can stop them and we’re going to put very serious tariffs on Mexico and Canada because Canada, they come through Canada, too.”
Apparently Trump has feelings about Mt Denali too.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday he will rename Denali, Alaska natives’ name for North America’s tallest mountain, after William McKinley, the 25th U.S. president who was assassinated in 1901.
Democratic former President Barack Obama in 2015 officially renamed the mountain as Denali, siding with the state of Alaska and ending a decades-long naming battle. The peak had been officially called Mount McKinley since 1917.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/01/07/trump-gulf-of-mexico-america/
We should just name it the Gulf of Macross.
Well if we’re voting on names here, I’m going with The Bubba Gump Gulf.
Not a hill to die on, if you ask me.
Really, it’s up to the mapmakers what name they put in the center of that body of water.
Gulf of America WOULD be fitting, given that both the United States and Mexico are in America. But geez, the muscle memory is going to keep me calling it Gulf of Mexico for the rest of my life.
More than that.
My understanding is that any country can name the body of water whatever they choose. The US could call it the Gulf of America and rework all of their maps to reflect the new name. Meanwhile, the rest of the world could continue to refer to it as the Gulf of Mexico.
I don’t see that ever happening, but I thought the article was interesting and worthy of discussion.
Right, i doubt anyone else is going to use Gulf of America. Probably most Americans will still use Gulf of Mexico.
I know some are using Obamas example of changing the name of Mt McKinley back to Mt Denali but Mt Denali was the name used for centuries before until the late 1890s when it started to be called Mt McKinley.
Gulf of Mexico name has been used since the 1500s so its not like the US is reclaiming any cultural heritage or respecting historic traditions.
With that said I do not care if they call it Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of America or Gulf of Trump. Its just Trump going after low hanging fruit to appease his base. And yes one could argue Obamas actions were the same.
Whilst I dont care about whatever its ultimately called like you I find the topic interesting.
Gulf of America? â– â– â– â– that. Gulf of Mexico it can remain, if it is to be changed then the Gulf of Texas or nothing.
What about calling if Gulf of FALMoTEX (Grok came up with that).
When Trump says “jump”, the GOP says “how high?”.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said Tuesday she plans to introduce legislation renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”
https://www.axios.com/2025/01/07/mtg-trump-gulf-of-mexico-america-bill
What an odd thing to waste time on.
He must really hate mexicans.
Definitely worthy of the lifeless libs pitching a fit first thing in the morning.
Norman says, “Please Don’t Stop”!