Mexican president trolls Trump with ‘Mexican America’ map after proposal to rename ‘Gulf of the Americas’

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday mocked US President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal to rename the Gulf of Mexico. “The Gulf of America.”

Standing in front of a 17th-century world map at his daily press briefing, Scheinbaum dryly suggested that North America be called “América Mexicana,” or “Mexican America,” as a founding document from 1814, which preceded the Mexican constitution, referred to it as such. .

– That sounds nice, huh? he added in a mocking tone. He also noted that the Gulf of Mexico has been called that since 1607.

Trump said these words at an open press conference at Mar-a-Lago did not exclude using military or economic coercion to bring about Greenland and the Panama Canal under US control.

“We’re going to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a nice ring to it,” Trump said. “It covers a lot of land, the Gulf of America. What a great name. And it’s appropriate. It’s appropriate. And Mexico should not allow millions of people to pour into our country.”

A Trump ally, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, said she would legislation Thursday morning in this sense.

The exchange began to address a broader question about the bilateral relationship between the two regional powers: How will the newly elected Sheinbaum handle Trump’s tough diplomatic approach and promises of mass deportations and crippling taxes on trading partners like Mexico?

Scheinbaum’s predecessor and political mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador — who, while leaning to the left, hailed from a similar strain of class populism as Trump — was able to ally with Trump, and his government began to block migrants from heading north. A boon for Trump under US pressure.

But it was unclear whether Mexico’s first female president, a scholar and leftist who lacked the grassroots populism that brought López Obrador to power, could have the same relationship.

While Wednesday’s prank quickly went viral on social media, it also set the tone for what the Sheinbaum-Trump relationship might look like in the years to come.

“Humor can be a good tactic, it reflects power, Trump responds to that. It was probably the right choice in this case,” said Brian Winter, vice president of the New York-based Council of America. “Even though President Sheinbaum knows it won’t work on everything — Trump and his administration will demand serious engagement from Mexico on big issues like immigration, drugs and trade.”

It follows Sheinbaum’s other tough but cooperative responses to Trump’s proposals.

Active Trump’s idea to remove 25% tariffs On Mexican imports, Sheinbaum warned that if the new US administration imposes tariffs on Mexico, his administration will respond with similar measures. He said any kind of tax “is unacceptable and will lead to inflation and job losses for the United States and Mexico.”

He took a more conciliatory tone on immigration, in line with years of Mexico’s efforts to block migrants from heading north amid growing U.S. pressure.

After initially saying his government would force the Trump administration to deport migrants directly to their home countries, he said in January that Mexico would be open to accepting deportees from other countries, but Mexico could limit it to certain nationalities or demand compensation.

Canada also gave sarcastic reply To Trump’s latest comments this week on the annexation of America’s northern neighbor. Canadian CTV News reported about itOntario Premier Doug Ford was questioned by a reporter on Monday about Trump’s multifaceted threats. It imposes a 25% tariff on products from Canada and Mexico in the first hours of his presidency, as well as making Canada the “51st state”.

“You know what, to the president, I’m going to give him a counterproposal. What if we take Alaska and throw in Minnesota and Minneapolis at the same time,” Ford said.