President-elect Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that we’ll be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico. As of today, it will now be known as… the Gulf of America.
THE "GULF OF AMERICA" — WHAT A BEAUTIFUL NAME! pic.twitter.com/NVks3zgfLr
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 7, 2025
It’s a good idea. And I’m pretty sure he (or someone on his staff) swiped it from PJ Media. Because, on Dec. 23, we published the following article: “PR Idea: Trump Should Rename It the AMERICAN Canal. (Panama Didn’t Build It!)”
Two weeks later, Trump repurposed the exact same concept for a different body of water. And that’s perfectly fine: Let’s rename EVERYTHING after America!
Like I said, a good idea is a good idea.
Trump first became famous for his New York City real estate portfolio, but that’s not what’s consistently kept him in the public spotlight. He’s a branding expert. Decades before he descended Trump Tower's golden escalator and launched his political career, he had already built his brand into the preeminent name in luxury, opulence, and high-end amenities. It still applied to his hotels and properties, of course, but the Trump brand was by no means limited to landholdings.
He’s also used it to sell Trump-branded beverages, food, games, books, education, fashion, cologne, attire, and television. Pretty much anything you can think of. (Trump is the KISS of presidential merch.) If there was money to be made, the Trump logo was going on it.
More than any other president in American history, Donald Trump understands the power of brands because, in the right hands, proactive branding can sway hearts and minds. It can win elections.
You can even change the world.
Juliet was wrong: A rose by any other name would NOT smell as sweet. (If a rose was called a stankflower or a poop-petal, I’ll betcha a million bucks they wouldn’t be as popular on Valentine’s Day.) It’s sort of counterintuitive because we’re taught at an early age not to judge a book by its cover.
So it seems superficial and trite.
But the reason why we must teach people not to judge a book by its cover is because it happens all the time! We can’t help ourselves. It’s who we are; this is how our brains process information.
Names matter. Brands matter.
In fact, Trump might even up the ante: After the Panama Canal becomes the American Canal and the Gulf of Mexico becomes the Gulf of America, how about…
The Atlantic Ocean is now the American Ocean East, and the Pacific Ocean is now the American Ocean West. (Hey, India got an ocean named after her, and we’re way more important than India. If India gets one, we should get at least two.)
The Grand Canyon is now America’s Big Frickin’ Hole. The Amazon River is now the Mississippi River South. (Why should Jeff Bezos get the branding benefit?)
Central America is now Middle America. Canada is now America North. New England is now Old America. (Not sure what to do with New Mexico.)
And finally, Trump should declare that Paris, Texas, is now the only REAL Paris and that dumpy city in France needs a new name ASAP.
Trump began his political career by branding his movement “Make America Great Again,” labeling Jeb(!) Bush as “low energy,” and his 2016 opponent as “Crooked Hillary.” Kim Jong Un was the “Rocket Man” and Elizabeth Warren was “Pocahontas.”
Wherever he went and whatever he did, his branding went with him.
It’s allowed him to define people, places, and ideas faster and more effectively than his rivals. And it carries a helluva wallop, too: It wasn’t merely coincidental that a few weeks after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was rebranded “Gov. Trudeau,” his political fortunes had nosedived so spectacularly that he was pushed out of office.
That’s the power of a name — and the impact of a brand.
Just something to keep in mind the next time you travel to the Gulf of America.
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