Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded sarcastically on Wednesday to US President-elect Donald Trump's proposal to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to “American Gulf”.
Standing in front of a 17th-century world map at her daily press briefing, Sheinbaum dryly suggested that North America be renamed “América Mexicana,” or “Mexican America,” because that's what the 1814 founding document, which preceded Mexico's constitution, called it . .
“That sounds nice, doesn't it?” she added in a sarcastic tone. She also noted that the Gulf of Mexico has had this name since 1607.
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Trump made the comments during an open press conference at Mar-a-Lago, during which he also did not exclude using military or economic coercion to bring Greenland and the Panama Canal controlled by the US.
“We're going to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico, which has a nice ring to it,” Trump said. “It covers a large area, the American Gulf. What a beautiful name. And she fits. This is appropriate. And Mexico must stop letting millions of people into our country.”
A Trump ally, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, said she would submit legislation on this occasion on Thursday morning.
The exchange began to address a larger question that has lingered in the bilateral relationship between the two regional powers: How would the newly elected Sheinbaum deal with Trump's hard-line diplomatic approach and promises of mass deportations and crippling taxes on trading partners like Mexico?
Scheinbaum's predecessor and political mentor, Andrés Manuel López Abrador, who came from the same class populism as Trump, although he leaned left, was able to build a relationship with Trump as an ally, and his government began to block migrants from moving north under pressure from the US. favor of Trump.
But it was unclear whether Mexico's first female president, an academic and leftist who lacks the grassroots populism that brought López Obrador to power, would manage the same relationship.
While Wednesday's joke quickly ricocheted around social media feeds, it also set the tone for what the Sheinbaum-Trump relationship might look like in the coming years.
“Humor can be a good tactic, it projects power, which is what Trump is responding to. It was probably the right choice in this matter,” said Brian Winter, vice president of the New York Council of the Americas. “While President Scheinbaum knows it won't work across the board — Trump and his administration will demand serious engagement from Mexico on critical immigration, drug and trade issues.”
It followed Sheinbaum's other tough but cooperative responses to Trump's proposals.
incl Trump plans to impose tariffs of 25%. on Mexican imports, Scheinbaum warned that if the new US administration imposed tariffs on Mexico, its administration would respond with similar measures. She said any tax “is unacceptable and will lead to inflation and job losses in the United States and Mexico.”
She has taken a more conciliatory tone on immigration, in line with Mexico's years-long effort to bar migrants from traveling north amid increasing pressure from the US
After initially saying her government would push the Trump administration to deport migrants directly to their countries, she said in January that Mexico would be open to accepting deportees from other countries, but that Mexico could limit it to certain nationalities or ask for compensation.
Canada also gave a sarcastic reply this week to Trump's recent comments about annexing America's northern neighbor. According to Canadian news CTVOn Monday, a reporter questioned Ontario Premier Doug Ford about Trump's multifaceted threats impose a 25% tariff on products from Canada and Mexico in the early hours of his presidency, as well as making Canada the “51st state.”
“You know what, I will make a counter offer to the president. How about if we buy Alaska and we throw in Minnesota and Minneapolis at the same time,” Ford said.