Gulf of America? More like ‘America Mexicana,’ Mexican president says

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum hit back on President-elect Donald Trump saying the Gulf of Mexico should be re-named the “Gulf of America” — and she brought the receipts.

“Obviously, the Gulf of Mexico is a name recognized by the United Nations,” Sheinbaum said in Spanish Wednesday during her daily press briefing, dismissing Trump’s remark.

Then she gestured to a historic map showing control of North American territories, on which parts of the contemporary United States were emblazoned with the name “America Mexicana.”

“Why don’t we call it Mexican America?” she asked sarcastically in Spanish. “It sounds nice, no?”

Trump said during a wide-ranging press conference at Mar-a-lago Tuesday he would rename the Gulf of Mexico after the U.S. because “it’s appropriate.” The “Gulf of America,” he said, “has a beautiful ring.”

“Because I know I will be asked, I think that yesterday, President Trump was misinformed, with all due respect to President Trump. Because I believe they informed him that in Mexico, Felipe Calderón was still governing, and García Luna,” Sheinbaum quipped, referring to the former Mexican president and his Secretary of Public Security, respectively, both of whom stepped down in 2012. Luna was sentenced last year to more than 38 years in U.S. prison for taking bribes from the Sinaloa drug cartel.

“But no. In Mexico, the people govern,” she added.

A spokesperson for Trump’s transition did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The humorous exchange could forecast the relationship between Trump and Sheinbaum as Trump promises to enact steep tariffs on her country and build a wall on their shared border.

Carmen Paun contributed to this report.