This month, the US president-elect held a rambling press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort Donald Trump announced his latest vision Modify the world map: “We will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring.”

he continues reiterate Agreeing: “That covers a lot of territory, including the Gulf of America. What a beautiful name.”

The Gulf of Mexico, which stretches along much of Mexico’s eastern coastline and borders five southern U.S. states, is an important international hub for shipping, fishing, oil drilling and other commercial activities. bodies of water are so named more than four centuries ago Before the United States or Mexico existed.

Of course, a U.S. president unilaterally renaming the Gulf does not require the approval of Mexico or any other country. Other recent map changes proposed by the new leadership include Capture the Panama Canalseize control of Greenland and annex Canada.

In addition to the “beautiful ring” Trump sees in the upcoming new name for the Gulf of Mexico, the proposed move also fits his record of overzealous confrontation with Mexico, a country he says is largely dominated by “rapist” and other criminals. Speaking of “beauty,” Trump repeatedly asked Mexico to pay for “beauty” during his first term as president.big beautiful wall“He envisioned it on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Indeed, Trump viciously blames America’s southern neighbors for “illegal” immigration and the northward flow of drugs — as if America’s demand for illegal substances and bipartisanship The United States has a habit of destroying other countries Nothing to do with promoting drug trafficking and immigration. Of course, neither does the U.S. economy rely Concerns about undocumented and exploitable labor play no role in this equation.

Never one to pass up an opportunity to repeat hypocrisy, Trump added: warn His statement on the Gulf of Mexico, announced at Mar-a-Lago: “Mexico must stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country.” Either way, the reshaping of the Gulf is sure to reorient Mexicans.

At the very least, the Gulf of America project would be less aggressive than Trump’s previous ideas, e.g. missiles fired into mexico Fighting drug cartels – these organizations owe their existence precisely to America’s simultaneous demand for drugs and narcotics criminalize drugs.

The uproar over the name change also provides a convenient distraction from the real issues — which is what Trump’s signature bombastic xenophobia does in the first place.

Among them was far-right U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who immediately responded to Trump’s call to arms. Two days after holding a press conference at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, she introduced a bill that would rename the Gulf of Mexico in accordance with the president-elect’s wishes.

according to The bill “would direct the chair of the Geographic Names Commission under the Secretary of the Interior to rename all federal documents and maps within 180 days of being signed into law,” according to political website The Hill. Green added her own compelling sales pitch: “This is our divide. The correct name is the Gulf of America, and that’s what the world should call it.”

As it turns out, this isn’t the first time a U.S. politician has suggested renaming the Gulf of Mexico. Associated Press article Recalling an incident in 2012, when a member of the Mississippi Legislature introduced a bill to name a portion of the body of water touching Mississippi beaches the Gulf of America—”the bill’s authors later called the move A ‘joke'”.

Meanwhile, much earlier in the regional timeline, another shocking example of imperial arrogance occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in 1914, during the administration of Democratic U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum website has commemorative That year’s “Tampico Incident,” named after the port city in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas on the Gulf of Mexico, “had U.S. warships anchored off the coast to protect U.S. oil interests.”

Last year, General Victoriano Huerta came to power in a coup against Mexican President Francisco I Madero with the help of the then-U.S. ambassador to Mexico. In 1914, the new U.S. ambassador to Mexico supported Huerta’s opposition, and Huerta’s troops had the audacity to detain nine American sailors while a fleet of U.S. warships continued to anchor innocently off the coast.

In a version of events provided by the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum, “After quickly releasing the sailors, U.S. commanders in the area asked Huerta to fire a 21-gun salute and apologize.” The Mexican government rejected these demands, and “President Wilson used these events as justification for requesting congressional approval for an armed invasion of Mexico.”

Lo and behold: “Events soon led to the occupation of Veracruz (the port city) by American troops.”

In other words, one might have many reasons to object to renaming the Gulf of Mexico.

While Trump’s insistence on acting like a caricature makes it easier to dismiss him as some kind of aberration in U.S. foreign policy, at the end of the day, this is imperialism plain and simple — and it’s something you can’t do One thing to note is renaming.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.