In his first press conference since election certification, President-elect Trump announced his intention to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America," stating it "has a beautiful ring." This announcement, made at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, followed Trump's unveiling of a $20 billion investment from DAMAC Properties for new data centers across the U.S. He also previewed upcoming policy initiatives ahead of his inauguration.
The Gulf of Mexico, a partially enclosed sea, borders several U.S. states, including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, as well as Mexico. Without providing specifics on how the renaming would be implemented, Trump criticized Mexico for U.S. immigration challenges under the Biden administration. He then announced plans to impose "substantial tariffs" on Mexico and Canada, citing record drug flows entering the U.S. through both countries.
This renaming proposal is the latest in a series of pronouncements from Trump concerning land territories and potential U.S. expansion. He has previously referred to Canada as the "51st state." Coinciding with Trump's repeated calls for the U.S. to acquire Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, Donald Trump Jr. and other Trump allies traveled there this week. Trump Jr. described the trip as a personal one focused on creating video content for his podcast, clarifying he would not be meeting with government officials.
