US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after signing a proclamation renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, while flying over the gulf aboard Air Force One en route to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Washington: US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation recognising February 9 as "the first-ever Gulf of America Day" after a recent executive order by him to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
Trump signed the proclamation on Sunday on his way to the Super Bowl in New Orleans, which sits on the gulf.
“We are flying right over it right now,” Trump said, sitting aboard Air Force One with a pen in his hand. “So we thought this would be appropriate.”
"Today, I am making my first visit to the Gulf of America since its renaming," Trump said in the proclamation published on the White House website.
Trump had signed an executive order on his inauguration on January 20, giving the Department of the Interior 30 days to take “all appropriate action” needed to facilitate the name change.
Just after Trump signed the executive order, the US Coast Guard started using the term Gulf of America, marking the US government’s first official use of the term.
"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," Trump said in the proclamation.
"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," he said.
He called upon public officials and all the people of the United States to observe the day with appropriate programmes, ceremonies, and activities.