Trump’s ‘Gulf of America’ renaming is mere political spectacle

Let’s talk about something that happened this weekend – something that, on its face, might seem like a small, silly story but, when you step back, tells you something much larger about how power operates in Trump’s world.

On Sunday, former President Donald Trump flew down to the Super Bowl in New Orleans, and during that flight he held a news conference to support what can only be described as a performative campaign stunt. 

As the flight entered international waters over the Gulf of Mexico, he announced – completely unilaterally, without any legal authority whatsoever – that the body of water bordering the southeastern United States would now be called the Gulf of America, and declaring February 9 “Gulf of America Day.” 

He also made a big fuss about how famous and important the pen he signed this proclamation would be, because of course.

[Insert clip from news conference]

Now, for anyone keeping track, the Gulf of Mexico has been called that for centuries. It appears as “El Golfo de Mexico” on Spanish maps dated to the 1500s, long before the U.S. even existed. 

But Trump – never one to let history, diplomacy, or reality get in his way – apparently believes that he can erase centuries of established geographic nomenclature and international consensus with the wave of a hand.

The process of changing a geographical name takes about six months, as the US Board on Geographic Names must first consult with various interested parties, but Trump has said that it will go into effect within 30 days. 

Google has said that it will update the name once official government sources have legalized it. So…who knows. Who knows. 

He creates tariffs, cancels them, cancels USAID, then kinda walks it back…it’s all very difficult to keep track of. Which is the point.

This is the playbook. It’s political branding as a substitute for policy. It’s nationalism as a campaign gimmick. 

And, perhaps most importantly, it’s Trump trying to reaffirm a certain kind of power – one based not in facts or governance, but in spectacle.

This is a man who, during his first go-round as president, suggested we buy Greenland. Who threw paper towels at hurricane victims in Puerto Rico. 

Who altered a hurricane map with a Sharpie rather than admit he was wrong about its path. And now, apparently, he thinks that by flying over the Gulf of Mexico, he can rename it like a failed real estate venture.

But there’s another angle to this, and it’s not just absurdity – it’s a calculated political move. Trump is desperately trying to shore up support among the nationalist wing of his party, the one that loves chest-thumping gestures like these. 

This is about playing into a certain brand of Republicanism that views international cooperation – and, let’s be honest, anything with “Mexico” in the name – as something to be erased, rewritten, or dominated.

It’s also about distracting from the very real legal and political challenges facing him. Why talk about his multiple criminal trials or answer tough policy questions about the economy or foreign policy when you can pull the focus of the news cycle with a stunt?

But here’s the kicker: the stunt probably worked. Even if this announcement has no legal standing, even if every government map from NOAA to the Pentagon to your local weather report continues to call it the Gulf of Mexico, 

Trump supporters will believe it. If he demands that Fox News start using the name, they very well might comply. 

Because in Trump’s ever-expanding world, reality is what he says it is. The world is not what is, but what he declares it to be.