Just when you think you don’t like Donald Trump and that you can just ignore him for a few years, he goes and does something amazing.

The incoming president wants to change the name of the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America.”

Because of course he does!

“We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring,” he said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Let’s table the logistics of this for a bit. (I promise, I’ll get back to whether Trump actually has the authority to rename international waters.)

Let’s just deal with how on brand this is for a guy who got elected president the first time by saying, “We’re gonna build a wall and make Mexico pay for it.”

Trump could be talking serious international policy as he gets ready to reenter the White House on Jan. 20, discussing immigration, Israel, Ukraine, you name it.

Instead, Trump is still playing to his base, almost like he thinks he’s still running for election.

With the infamous wall, Trump was actually saying that he was planning to slap fees and taxes on imports from Mexico that would fund construction of the sprawling border project.

But saying it like that is boring.

So, he didn’t.

Similarly, saying that he wants to correct trade imbalances with Mexico isn’t going to generate any headlines or resonate with everyday voters.

So, that’s not what he’s saying.

What he’s saying is that he’s going to rename the Gulf of Mexico.

And what that signals is that Trump is putting the U.S. first on his international trade agenda.

Honestly, it’s brilliant in its simplicity.

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Now, does Trump actually have this authority?

Sure, why not?

If he starts calling the body of water down by Florida and Texas “the Gulf of America” and Republican politicians go along with it, it could stick.

And if Trump can print his own Bibles, he surely can print his own maps.

That wouldn’t require a law change or anything.

If he did want to muscle something through Congress, where Republicans hold a majority in both chambers, nonbinding resolutions pass every session. Why not something that formalizes the “Gulf of America”?

It’s important to note that the Gulf of Mexico is an international body of water, meaning no one nation owns it.

The easiest way to understand it is if an international water touches the shore of any given nation, that nation is responsible for managing that part of it.

But no one cares about that.

What Trump wants you to know is that America comes first, and “Gulf of America” signals that better than anything else he could come up with off the top of his head.

I just hope no one tells him there’s a U.S. state called “New Mexico.”

Reach Moore at gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @SayingMoore.

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