The new US Executive announced this Friday the official name change of the Gulf of Mexico and Mount Denali (Alaska), which will henceforth be called Gulf of America and Mount McKinley, respectively, according to a statement from the Department of the Interior.
“In accordance with the recent executive order of President Donald J. Trump, the Department of the Interior is proud to announce the implementation of name restorations that honor the legacy of American greatness, efforts that are already underway,” begins the note, which explains that “these changes reaffirm the nation’s commitment to preserve the extraordinary heritage of the United States and ensure that future generations of Americans celebrate the legacy of their heroes and their historical assets.”
This change will become effective when the country’s Board of Geographic Names updates the official federal nomenclature in the Geographic Names Information System, “effective immediately for federal use” from that moment on, according to the Interior Ministry.
Regarding the Gulf of America, Washington has highlighted its “lasting contributions” to “the economic vitality of the United States,” stressing that Trump’s decision to formally change its name has only “reaffirmed its central importance to the nation.”
For its part, Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America, has become with this change of identity “a monument to the strength and determination of President William McKinley” –the 25th president of the United States–, who “heroically led the nation to victory in the Spanish-American War, promoting an era of rapid economic growth and territorial gains for the nation.”
Trump’s team has presented this particular tribute to McKinley as a “significant recognition” of his “enduring legacy,” after “the administration of President (Barak) Obama removed the name McKinley from federal nomenclature” in 2015, according to the same document.
“The Department of the Interior remains committed to respecting all aspects of President Trump’s executive order, ensuring that the names we use reflect the values, sacrifices and achievements that define our nation,” the Department of the Interior concluded.
This announcement comes after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected in early January — before the new Trump Administration took power — the US president’s proposal to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and suggested in an ironic tone that the United States should then be called “Mexican America,” appealing to a text from the early 19th century.
