Published on February 9, 2025
This presidential proclamation establishes February 9, 2025, as Gulf of America Day, commemorating the official renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America through Executive Order 14172. The action, justified by claiming the gulf's historical importance to American greatness, mandates the Secretary of the Interior to implement this change across all U.S. Continental Shelf areas bordering Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.
The renaming appears to be part of a broader strategy to assert increased American control over international waters through linguistic dominance, potentially straining diplomatic relations with Mexico and Cuba while setting a concerning precedent for unilateral territorial rebranding. The vague reference to "restoring American pride" and "American greatness" suggests an attempt to normalize nationalist rhetoric while simultaneously expanding executive authority over geographic designations that have historically been determined through international consensus.
While presented as a patriotic celebration of American heritage, this proclamation represents a significant departure from international naming conventions and could serve as a tool for expanding U.S. influence over shared maritime resources. The action's timing and implementation method suggest a calculated effort to reshape regional dynamics through symbolic gestures that carry tangible geopolitical implications.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION Today, I am very honored to recognize February 9, 2025, as the first ever Gulf of America Day. On January 20, 2025, I signed Executive Order 14172 (“Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness”). Among other actions, that Executive Order required the Secretary of the Interior, acting pursuant to 43 U.S.C. 364 through 364f, to “take all appropriate actions to rename as the ‘Gulf of America’ the U.S. Continental Shelf area bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the State of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida and extending to the seaward boundary with Mexico and Cuba in the area formerly named as the Gulf of Mexico.” I took this action in part because, as stated in that Order, “[t]he area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico has long been an integral asset to our once burgeoning Nation and has remained an indelible part of America.” Today, I am making my first visit to the Gulf of America since its renaming. As my Administration restores American pride in the history of American greatness, it is fitting and appropriate for our great Nation to come together and commemorate this momentous occasion and the renaming of the Gulf of America. NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 9, 2025, as Gulf of America Day. I call upon public officials and all the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this ninth day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.