Local View / Take it further: Rebrand the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of Trump

While some Americans believe the tragedies occurring in the Mideast and Ukraine are important, President Donald Trump made changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America a foreign-policy priority.

Following Trump’s lead, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, declared the Gulf of Mexico “ours,” ignoring that Mexico has more coastline adjoining the Gulf than our country does. Greene introduced legislation , which, if passed, would require reprinting millions of maps to carry out Trump’s idea of rebranding the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

Greene’s legislation falls short. Fortunately, it has been referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources, where Rep. Pete Stauber is assigned and can correct the shortcoming. Stauber is ideally positioned to amend Greene’s bill to have the Gulf of Mexico renamed the Gulf of Trump. Such a move would not only be consistent with Stauber’s fealty to Trump, it could also stave off future efforts to brand our nation the United States of Trump or the Earth simply as Trump.

Additionally, our country’s good name is not a fit with that body of water.

Airports, animals, roadways, money, parks, schools, medical centers, ships, and political subdivisions are all named for presidents. Examples include the state of Washington, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and the NASA Johnson Space Center. Some Hermantown residents live on Truman Drive, Washington Drive, Jefferson, Drive, or McKinley Drive, while Duluth residents enjoy Lincoln Park. There are remembrances of presidents everywhere.

Trump relishes having his name plastered on golf courses, buildings, bibles, watches, shoes, crypto, fragrances, wines, universities, steaks, and more. However, Trump’s first term did not result in significant landmarks bearing his name. While he was honored by the discovery of a new moth (“Neopalpa donaldtrumpi”) and a new fossilized sea urchin (“Tetragramma donaldtrumpi”), those recognitions were not the notoriety for which Trump seems to pine.

Stauber can correct that.

During Trump’s first term, the idea of placing Trump’s likeness on Mount Rushmore was tossed about by South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem. While the idea led to jokes about the mountainous rock not being dense enough, Trump likely would not want to share the spotlight with the likes of Teddy Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington. When you have the Village People, who needs those rock stars?

Bodies of water have enjoyed being named after prominent individuals. For example, Hudson Bay, Magellan Strait, Tasman Sea, the St. Louis River, and Lake Victoria. However, Trump could be the first president to have his name imprinted on a gulf. The Gulf of Mexico presents a perfect metaphor for Trump and his presidency.

Trump has an expertise at creating, well, um, “gulfs” between people and countries. By proposing to rename the Gulf of Mexico, Trump has already alienated others by blowing off maritime treaties with Cuba and Mexico and dissing the United Nations, which traditionally plays a role in naming international geographical locations.

Further, the Gulf of Mexico invokes images of destruction caused by extreme weather events like hurricanes. Comparatively, there are few destructive forces more potent than Trump. Trump creates his own hurricane-force devastation through tweetstorms.

The Gulf of Mexico harmonizes well with Trump’s “drill baby drill” and deregulation philosophies, which Stauber supports. The Gulf is well known for frequent oil spills, leading some to call it the world’s largest oil painting. Also, poorly regulated toxic runoff has created a 7,000-square-mile dead zone uninhabitable by marine life. These conditions certainly promise to continue under a second Trump presidency.

An amendment by Stauber to change the name to the Gulf of Trump would enjoy strong political support. States surrounding the Gulf (Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama) were part of the Confederacy and overwhelmingly supported Trump for president. While these states may prefer to have the Gulf of Mexico renamed after Jefferson Davis, they would no doubt find the Gulf of Trump an acceptable substitute.

Importantly, renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, as proposed by Trump and Greene, simply does not work. America wants to be regarded for its aspirational ideals, pristine national parks, inspiring “America the Beautiful” anthem, arts, and, of course, the courage and strength of Steve Rogers, aka Captain America. We should not sully that image.

A new name for the Gulf of Mexico will be associated with ignoring treaties, millions of dollars of costs to redraw maps, alienating allies, toxic dead zones, red tides, oil spills, and destructive weather. That name should be the Gulf of Trump.

Robert Moilanen is a retired lawyer in Minnetonka, Minnesota who worked at the state and federal level. He wrote this exclusively for the News Tribune.