US President Donald Trump again referred on Tuesday to his decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico as ‘Gulf of America’ and mocked Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum’s reaction, according to his account.
Speaking at an event with members of the US Navy in Baltimore, Trump said that Sheinbaum had called him to ask him not to alter the name. The president re-enacted the alleged conversation in front of those present and said he had told the Mexican leader that the decision was already made.
“It was a slightly tricky moment when I did that. I received a call from the president of Mexico. She was a very nice woman, beautiful, with a lovely voice, and she said to me: ‘No, no, Mr President. Please, please, tell me that isn’t the case**’**”.
Trump defended the change by claiming that the United States accounts for 93% of the Gulf coastline, compared with barely 7% for Mexico. However, the available data do not support that ratio.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and calculations published by Mexico’s National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (Conabio) point to a much more balanced split. According to Conabio, using geospatial data from the Flanders Marine Institute, Mexico represents 47.67% of the Gulf’s maritime area and the United States 44.75%.
Sheinbaum rejects the new name
Sheinbaum has repeatedly opposed the change pushed by Trump and has insisted that the internationally recognised name remains Gulf of Mexico. The president has even responded to the controversy with irony, floating the idea of referring to the United States as ‘Mexican America’.
Trump ordered the name to be changed to ‘Gulf of America’ in 2025, a decision that has since caused friction with the Mexican government over which name should be used.