Democratic Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker trolled President Donald Trump with an "important announcement" regarding Lake Michigan in a blatant mockery of Trump's executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America."
On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order renaming the "Gulf of Mexico" to the "Gulf of America." The order also reversed an Obama-era decision to change the name of the Alaskan mountain "Denali" back to "Mount McKinley."
Typically, changing a geographic name involves a lengthy process, taking at least six months as the U.S. Board on Geographic Names consults with states, tribes, mapmakers, and other stakeholders. However, Trump’s order called for the change to take effect within just 30 days.
Pritzker decided to poke fun at this, and at Trump's repeated assertions that the U.S. should purchase Greenland from Denmark, by posting a video on his personal X account, in which he can be heard saying:
“The world’s finest geographers, experts who study the Earth’s natural environment, have concluded a decades long council and determined that a Great Lake deserves to be named after a great state."
“So today I’m issuing a proclamation declaring that hereinafter, Lake Michigan shall be known as Lake Illinois. The proclamation has been forwarded to Google to ensure the world’s maps reflect this momentous change.”
“In addition, the recent announcement that to protect the homeland, the United States will be purchasing Greenland. Illinois will now be annexing Green Bay to protect itself against enemies, foreign and domestic.”
You can see his post below.
People saw exactly what Pritzker was doing—and loved every second of it.
Trump may just get his "Gulf of America" wish, at least in part.
Google has stated it will update the name on its maps once it is reflected in official government records. While other countries are not required to adopt the new name, international organizations would need to address any inconsistencies.
Last month, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum mocked Trump by presenting a world map dating back to 1607. The map labeled North America as "Mexican America" and identified the Gulf of Mexico by its current name—169 years before the founding of the United States.
Sheinbaum, who joked the U.S. should instead be known as "America Mexicana," also said Trump is "misinformed" about Mexico's issues with drug cartels and emphasized her government's commitment to combating illegal drug distribution.
