President Donald Trump said he intends to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America" via an executive order.
The proposal marks a significant shift in the naming of a major international body of water, potentially straining diplomatic relations with Mexico and other bordering nations.
Trump said the change during a public speech in Palm Beach, Florida [1]. The announcement occurred on Jan. 20, 2025, which coincided with his inauguration day [3, 4]. During the event, more than 100 protesters gathered at the venue [1].
Trump said he had seriously considered renaming the waters after himself, which would have created the "Gulf of Trump" [1]. He later shifted the proposal to the "Gulf of America" [2, 3]. To implement this change, Trump cited Executive Order 14172 [4].
Reports on the nature of the announcement vary. Some sources said the comments were a joke [1], while others reported the signing of the official executive order [4]. The proposal follows a pattern of naming disputes, similar to the controversy surrounding the naming of Mount Denali [4].
The U.S. government has not provided further details on how the name change will be enforced on international nautical charts or with global maritime organizations. The Gulf of Mexico remains a critical corridor for trade and energy production between the U.S., Mexico, and Cuba.
“Trump said he intends to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America" via an executive order.”
The attempt to unilaterally rename a geographic feature shared by multiple sovereign nations challenges international norms of cartography and diplomacy. While a U.S. president can issue executive orders for domestic use, international bodies like the International Hydrographic Organization typically determine official maritime names, meaning the change may lack global recognition despite the domestic order.
