Keith Lusher 01.21.25
It looks like “Gulf of America” might be catching on faster than anyone expected. Just hours after President Trump announced his plan to officially rename the Gulf of Mexico, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was already using the new name in an official state document – and not just any document, but an emergency weather alert for Florida’s coast.
The timing is pretty interesting. During his inaugural speech on Monday, Trump announced he’d be signing an order to rename the historic body of water to the “Gulf of America.” Before the day was even over, DeSantis had already worked the new name into an executive order warning Floridians about some seriously unusual winter weather headed their way.
In the order, DeSantis wrote about “an area of low pressure moving across the Gulf of America” – and yes, you read that right – we’re talking about winter weather in Florida. The system is expected to bring some surprisingly cold conditions to North Florida starting Tuesday, January 21, 2025.
What makes this particularly noteworthy isn’t just the weather (though winter weather in Florida is definitely worth talking about). It’s how quickly the new name made its way into official government documents. We’re seeing what might be the start of a real shift in how people refer to these waters that generations of fishermen have known as the Gulf of Mexico.
Time will tell if the pro-America momentum that President Trump has brought back to this country will continue. But judging by the speed at which the government has adopted the new name, the Gulf of Mexico may be a thing of the past sooner than we imagined. Whether this renaming sparks unity or debate, it underscores the symbolic power of names and how they shape identity and perception.
As Floridians brace for an unusual cold snap, the weather may be the immediate concern, but the cultural ripples of this change are just beginning to spread. The Gulf of America, it seems, is already making waves in more ways than one.
