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In one of his first acts as president, Donald Trump used an executive order on Monday to rename the Gulf of Mexico and Denali in Alaska.
To start, Trump re-named the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America,” following through on a promise he made during his campaign. The body of water borders Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.
“The Gulf will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping America’s future and the global economy, and in recognition of this flourishing economic resource and its critical importance to our Nation’s economy and its people, I am directing that it officially be renamed the Gulf of America,” Trump wrote in his executive order.
As part of the executive order, the name must officially be changed by the Secretary of the Interior within 30 days. However, on Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis used the name “Gulf of America” in a winter weather state of emergency declaration.
While Trump has renamed the body of water, other countries don’t have to go along with the change, the Associated Press reported earlier this month. On Google Maps, the water was still labeled as the Gulf of Mexico at the time of publishing.
In addition, Trump ordered Denali in Alaska to revert to the name ”Mount McKinley” after America’s former President William McKinley, the 25th commander-in-chief of the U.S. (McKinley never visited Alaska in his lifetime.) The tallest mountain in North America was originally changed to the Koyukon Athabascan name Denali, which means “the high one” or “the great one,” in 2015 by former President Barack Obama to honor the heritage of Alaska natives.
That name change will also go into effect in 30 days, however, the name of Denali National Park and Preserve, where the mountain sits, will remain unchanged.
While Trump changed the name, he ordered the Secretary of the Interior to “work with Alaska Native entities and state and local organizations to adopt names for landmarks to honor the history and culture of the Alaskan people.”
