“This is like elon musk renaming twitter” — Internet reacts as Trump wants to rename Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America

In a press conference from Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to change the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America." He said,

"We're gonna be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring that covers a lot of territory. The Gulf of America, what a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate. It’s appropriate."

The president-elect was named TIME's Person of the Year 2024, surprising many netizens. After clips of Tuesday's conference spread like wildfire online, netizens stated how his statement reminded them of Elon Musk's decision to rename 'Twitter' to 'X'. A user wrote on X,

"This is like elon musk renaming twitter yet everyone calls it twitter."

Netizen comments on Trump's "Gulf of America" statement. [Image via X/@eternalcumslime]

Another user said,

"this is like when a restaurant has an official name but everyone calls it a common local name .. good job trump it's still the gulf of mexico."

Some netizens jokingly said that the president-elect should start renaming other things as well,

"While we’re at it, how about renaming the Pacific Ocean the Western American Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean the Eastern American Ocean" said one user.

"Finally. Wait until we rename Canada to North America and Mexico to South America. Greenland will become Americaland." said one user.

Other X users expressed their frustrations as they took to the social media platform.

"First, America doesn’t own the Gulf of Mexico, so the best he can do is change the name of the beach area that abuts the U.S. Second, I guess his chaos comments are meant to distract from the fact that he lied about reducing grocery prices." said one user.

"I think I’m going to need a Xanax prescription for the next four years." said one user.

"So, let me get this right, instead of focusing on America’s economy, education, the middle and lower class, the unhoused, college tuition, inflation, healthcare, and foreign affairs that actually matter, he’s zeroing in on the name of a body of water. Did I forget anything?" said one user.

---

Trump's bold statements in the press conference

Trump commented on the trade and immigration policy of Mexico, saying,

"Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country."

He called the country "a very dangerous place, essentially run by the cartels." The president-elect has talked about wanting to demolish Mexico's drug cartels in the past.

The president-elect also said he plans to acquire Canada by "economic force" and also expressed frustration over the US Defence spending and the cost of protecting Canada. He went on to claim that America doesn't need cars, lumber, or dairy from Canada.

In response, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who recently stepped down from his post, said on X,

"There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States."

Trump's bold statements have sparked criticism among historians and foreign policy experts. The Gulf of Mexico has been on European maps since the 1500s, and some anticipate that if he goes on to make more such statements, he could face severe international backlash.

Trump will swear in as the 47th President of the United States later this month.