A line on the embankment marks where the Tijuana River crosses from Mexico to the U.S. in San Diego County in this image from 2020.

An environmental group’s sign in San Diego County near the Mexico border calls for solutions to the Tijuana River’s sewage pollution problem, which has closed beaches and raised concerns over public health issues. 

“It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles.” — Machiavelli

The Tijuana River stinks. So, what could be more fitting than renaming it in honor of Donald Trump?

Turning the sewage-filled Tijuana into the River Trump would be far more than commentary on a corrupt and lawless American dictator. It would be the best way for California and Mexico to win international attention for a critically endangered waterway.

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It also would swipe a page from the playbook of  President Trump, who loves renaming things. He’s declared the Gulf of Mexico to be the Gulf of America (sparking anger and litigation from our neighbors). He is turning the Persian Gulf into the Arabian Gulf (who cares if that might risk war with Iran?). And since Trump doesn’t ask permission before renaming, California and Mexico could justify giving the Tijuana a new moniker without U.S. government sign-off.

Of course, the Tijuana needs more than a name. The river flows for 120 miles through Baja California, crossing the U.S.-Mexico border into San Diego County and running through Southern California’s largest natural coastal wetland before ending in the Pacific Ocean, near a surf break called 

© San Francisco Chronicle