Florida may soon border the “Gulf of America.”
One of President Donald Trump’s first executive orders will be to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, the president said at his inauguration ceremony on Monday.
“The United States will regain its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, and most respected nation on earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world,” President Trump said. “Effective now, we will be renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.”
When President Trump first announced the name change at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago in January, he called the move “appropriate.” “We’re going to change (that) because we’re doing most of the work there and it’s ours,” he said at the time.
President Trump said part of the reason for the change was concerns about illegal immigration and drugs flowing into the United States at the Mexican border.
Florida is one of five states bordering the Gulf Coast. The others are Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
Terrain name was previously renamed
It’s unclear whether such name changes will stick, but landmarks have been renamed before.
In 2015, former President Barack Obama approved an order from the Interior Department to change the name of Alaska’s Mount McKinley to Denali, the local Athabascan name for the mountain, which President McKinley never visited.
In his inaugural address, President Trump also said the mountain would be renamed Mount McKinley in honor of the former president.
“President McKinley made our country extremely wealthy through tariffs and human resources. He was a natural businessman,” Trump said.
He may be able to rename all references to the United States, but it remains to be seen whether he can get other countries to follow suit.
President Trump is expected to sign a series of executive orders overhauling federal immigration policy, among other things. These orders include suspending birthright citizenship and sending the National Guard to the border.
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
This story contains previously published material. USA TODAY Network Florida state watchdog reporter Ana Goñi-Lessan can be reached at agonilessan@gannett.com.
