Top Dem Backs Renaming Gulf of Mexico on One Condition

Sen. Chuck Schumer weighed in on Donald Trump’s controversial idea to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” as the president-elect ramps up his expansionist rhetoric ahead of the inauguration.

The New York Democrat said he was fine with Trump’s desire to dub the waterway something “more patriotic,” but only if the he “first agrees to work with us on an actual plan to lower costs for Americans.”

“That is what the American people want us to focus on first, not on renaming bodies of water,” Schumer said in a Senate floor speech Wednesday, adding that the Democrats' priorities “are so much more closely aligned with the concerns of the American people than Donald Trump’s seem to be.”

The president-elect suggested renaming the Gulf of Mexico during a press conference on Tuesday as he rattled off various geopolitical machinations including annexing Canada, acquiring Greenland, and retaking the Panama Canal.

His comments have since been met with support from many of his loyalists and widespread controversy.

Schumer, however, slammed Trump for trying to “distract America with crazy ideas,” arguing that renaming the Gulf of Mexico “isn’t going to help people save money at the grocery store.”

His comments echoed those of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who argued that “House Democrats believe that we are not sent to Washington to invade Greenland, rename the Gulf of Mexico or seize the Panama Canal by force.”

Congress, according to Jeffries, should “focus on the issues that matter to the American people: Housing costs are too high, grocery costs are too high, insurance costs are too high, utility costs are too high.”