Feb 9 the Gulf of America Day: Trump renames Gulf of Mexico
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Amid mounting tensions with his neighbors on the tariff and other issues, US President Donald Trump on Sunday renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” and declared February 9 as the day recalling the new identity.
The Gulf of America is an “‘Indelible Part Of USA’, he proclaimed, the media reported on Monday.
His move came as tension between his administration and Mexico has risen after he announced 25 percent tariffs on Mexican imports, a move he paused after Mexico agreed to deploy 10,000 of its National Guard troops on the border to check illegal infiltration.
President Trump signed an executive order to officially rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” on Sunday and announced to celebrate February 9 as the “Gulf of America Day.”
The renaming came as part of an executive order named “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness,” directing the US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to formalise the change of name within 30 days. Burgum congratulated him for his move.
Trump’s executive order noted that the renamed Gulf covers the “US Continental Shelf area bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the State of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, extending to the seaward boundary with Mexico and Cuba,” according to the White House.
He said that he took the decision in part because, as stated in the order, “the area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico has long been an integral asset to our once burgeoning Nation and has remained an indelible part of America.”
He underlined the significance of the renaming as he flew over the Gulf of Mexico aboard Air Force One from Palm Beach, Florida, to New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX.
“As my administration restores American pride in the history of American greatness, it is fitting and appropriate for our great Nation to come together and commemorate this momentous occasion and the renaming of the Gulf of America,” Fox5 DC quoted him as saying.
Trump’s proclamation also called for officials and citizens to celebrate “Gulf of America Day” with “appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.”
Until the early 1800s, the water body now called the Gulf of America was known as the “Mexican Bay” (Seno Mexicano). The name “Gulf of Mexico” came from Spanish explorers, who named it after Mexico because of its long coastline, as recorded in history.
