Dear Americans, we forgot to do something important. We forgot to celebrate the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. By neglecting the commemoration day, we actually showed a devil-may-care attitude toward the Presidential Proclamation signed on February 9, 2025, declaring that date as the first Gulf of America Day.

But it is my duty to remind you, because I was the one who publicly declared the renaming a geographical absurdity. I also underwent an emotional realization. The renaming worked like a switch that turned me from Trump’s ardent supporter into an independent observer and a critic. It felt like an insult to intelligence, evidence that the President did not read his own orders, and a comprehension that we will be fed empty slogans and fake victories. My worries happened to be true.

The limits of political theater

The proclamation explicitly suggested that public officials and U.S. citizens observe Gulf of America Day “with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.” However, I could not find evidence that any meaningful public observances actually happened. I used both traditional searches and AI-assisted searches, and could locate only a tiny article stating the obvious: even towns on the Gulf coast forgot to celebrate.

There is a question: why? Why did neither the White House, nor red state governments, nor rank-and-file MAGA supporters have a celebratory mood? Maybe the answer is in the keyword “appropriate.” Perhaps it was thought inappropriate to celebrate an insignificant, useless event that boosted patriotism for a minute before paling as other events shifted the national mood.

And those other events did shift it. The administration’s “Golden Age” messaging,........

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