Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum chided President-elect Trump for saying he plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico, saying she has a new name for the United States.
“Mexican America. That sounds nice,” Sheinbaum quipped Wednesday in Mexico City during a press conference, Reuters reported.
Sheinbaum cited a map from 1607 during the press conference and was joined by Mexico’s former culture minister, Jose Alfonso Suarez del Real.
“The fact is that Mexican America is recognized since the 17th century … as the name for the whole northern part of the (American) continent,” Suarez del Real said, pointing to the map.
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum shows a 1661 world map showing the Americas and the Gulf of Mexico in response to U.S. President-elect Trump’s comments about renaming the body of water during a press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, in a photo distributed Jan. 8, 2025. (Presidencia de Mexico/Handout via Reuters)
Sheinbaum’s remark followed Trump holding his own press conference Tuesday, where he made a series of announcements and further previewed his upcoming second administration, including saying he plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
”We have a massive deficit with Mexico, and we help Mexico a lot. They’re essentially run by the cartels, and can’t let that happen, because Mexico is really in trouble, a lot of trouble. Very dangerous place,” Trump said during the press conference.
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President-elect Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“We’re going to 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,” Trump said Tuesday. “The Gulf of America. What a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate.”
Gulf of Mexico 1690 (Picturenow/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The Gulf of Mexico is a partly enclosed sea that borders states such as Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, as well as Mexico and the northwestern portion of Cuba. Trump did not elaborate on how or when he will rename the body of water. Instead, he switched gears to the immigration woes in the U.S. under the Biden White House.
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“Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country. They can stop them, and we’re going to put very serious tariffs on Mexico and Canada, because Canada, they come through Canada too. And the drugs that are coming through are at record numbers,” Trump said.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during a press conference at the National Palace, in Mexico City, Mexico, Jan. 8, 2025. (Reuters/Henry Romero)
Sheinbaum pushed back on Trump’s comment that Mexico is essentially “run by cartels,” responding that the “people are in charge” of the nation.
Sheinbaum added during the press conference she expects the U.S. and Mexico will have a “good relationship” during the second Trump administration.
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“I think there will be a good relationship,” she said. “President Trump has his way of communicating.”