Claudia Sheinbaum is taking the air out of Donald Trump's plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
The Mexican president responded to President-elect Trump's contention that the sea should have a more U.S.-centric designation by showing a map from 1607 during a Wednesday press conference. The map, which predates the founding of the United States by more than 150 years, labels all of North America as "América Mexicana” (“Mexican America”).
“Why don’t we call it Mexican America?” Sheinbaum said. “It sounds pretty, no?”
🗣️ "A Estados Unidos vamos a llamarle América Mexicana, se oye bonito".
— El Universal (@El_Universal_Mx) January 8, 2025
🔴 Claudia Sheinbaum le responde a Trump sobre su propuesta de cambiar el nombre al Golfo de México por Golfo de América pic.twitter.com/wRonC7NagG
Trump has made Mexico a target of his incoming administration, threatening stiff tariffs and leading a MAGA push for possible military action in Northern Mexico. President Joe Biden has called Trump's proposed 25% tariffs on the United States' southern neighbor deeply misguided and urged Trump to "rethink" his stance.
"I think it’s a counterproductive thing to do,” the president shared with reporters in November."We have an unusual situation in America. We’re surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and two allies: Mexico and Canada. And the last thing we need to do is begin to screw up those relationships."
Other Democratic Party leaders are already attempting to use Trump's Mexico fixation to their advantage. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that he'd be willing to work with Trump on renaming the Gulf of Mexico, provided that Trump puts forward a plan to lower the cost of living for Americans.
"Renaming the Gulf of Mexico may be a zany new idea, but it isn't going to help people save money at the grocery store," Schumer said on Wednesday,
.@SenSchumer: "Donald Trump is in over his head. So he's doing what he always does in times like this, distract America with crazy ideas. Renaming the Gulf of Mexico may be a zany new idea, but it isn't going to help people save money at the grocery store." pic.twitter.com/Cn4GLt1SRg
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 8, 2025
