Trump says he wants to change Gulf of Mexico's name to "Gulf of America"

1. Trump says he wants to change Gulf of Mexico's name to "Gulf of America"

By Kathryn Watson

Updated on: January 7, 2025 / 7:52 PM EST / CBS News

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President-elect Donald Trump says he plans to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America," calling the move "appropriate" and criticizing Mexico for the migrants crossing the U.S. southern border. 

Trump made the comments during an open-ended Mar-a-Lago press conference during which he also didn't rule out using military or economic coercion to bring Greenland and the Panama Canal under U.S. control. He takes office in 13 days. 

"We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring," Trump said. "That covers a lot of territory, the Gulf of America. What a beautiful name. And it's appropriate. It's appropriate. And Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country."

Trump ally Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia said she would introduce legislation to that effect on Thursday morning. 

"The American people are footing the bill to protect and secure the maritime waterways for commerce to be conducted. Our U.S. armed forces protect the area from any military threats from foreign countries," she said in a statement. "It's our gulf. The rightful name is the Gulf of America and it's what the entire world should refer to it as." 

It's not immediately clear whether Trump has the authority to alter the name for U.S. use, although a push by both him and Republicans in Congress could change U.S. governmental references. 

The gulf is an ocean basin and marginal sea off the Atlantic Ocean that spans thousands of miles along the U.S. and Mexico, as well as Cuba. Mexico and the U.S. share a nearly equal number of coastline miles along the gulf, although Mexico has about 60 miles more coastline along the gulf than does the U.S. Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama all have gulf coastlines.

Within about half the gulf, the U.S. has sovereign rights for exploring, managing natural resources and jurisdiction, as international law allows, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. That boundary is shown in the map above. 

If Trump were to formally change U.S. references to the "Gulf of America," other nations would have no obligation to follow suit. 

Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C.

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