On the same day President Donald Trump announced a plan to formally change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” one fellow Republican took the cue in a winter weather emergency order on Monday.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 25-13 in response to a historic 1,500-mile long meteorological system pushing rainy and blizzard conditions east along the gulf and the Interstate 10 corridor.
“Whereas, an area of low pressure moving across the Gulf of America, interacting with Arctic air, will bring widespread impactful winter weather to North Florida beginning Tuesday, January 21, 2025…,” DeSantis’ order began.
“…therefore, I, Ron DeSantis… promulgate the following executive order to take immediate effect…,” the order went on, listing out an expansive series of actions to be taken by state, local and other authorities.
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The ice and snow totals are projected to be “meager, by northern standards,” according to FOX Weather, but are likely to lead to “paralyzing impacts across the [affected] region,” which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
Depending on the location, residents are in for one to five inches of snow in an area that is more accustomed to tropical cyclones than a whiteout.
DeSantis’ order appeared to be released just prior to Trump signing his own executive order fulfilling his earlier pledge.
In the federal executive order: “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness,” Section 4 rebrands the “area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico… an integral asset to our once burgeoning nation …and an indelible part of America” – as the “Gulf of America.”
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Trump noted the gulf spans more than 1,000 miles from South Padre Island, Texas; arching along Pascagoula, Mississippi; Orange Beach, Alabama; and Pensacola, Florida, and down to the Straits of Florida.
Florida’s gulf shoreline is the longest of any state – from the famous FloraBama Lounge on Perdido Key and arcing 775 miles down to the “Southernmost Point in the Continental United States” marker in Key West.
On Monday, Trump ordered the Interior Department to take appropriate actions to change the name within 30 days.
His predecessor also engaged in a slew of landmark rebranding – mostly U.S. military bases from Virginia and farther south.
Fort Lee in Petersburg, Virginia, named for Gen. Robert E. Lee, became Fort Gregg-Adams. Fort Bragg in North Carolina, named for Gen. Braxton Bragg, became Fort Liberty. Fort A.P. Hill in Bowling Green, Virginia, named for Gen. Ambrose Powell Hill, became Fort Walker, and Fort Hood in El Paso, Texas, named for Gen. John Bell Hood, became Fort Cavazos.
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Those name changes came amidst a push by the political left to dispatch memorials and other reminders of the Confederacy.
In Trump’s case, he also reverted the name of the continent’s highest peak – Denali, in Talkeetna, Alaska — to Mount McKinley after fellow Republican President William McKinley — the one rare change that ruffled feathers on his own side of the aisle.
In his order, Trump said it is in the nation’s interest to promote American heritage and honor the contributions of “visionary and patriotic Americans.”
A representative for DeSantis declined comment.
