The body of water where their capsule touched down has been called the Gulf of Mexico for over 400 years. But since Trump signed an executive order renaming it the “Gulf of America” earlier this year, news outlets have suddenly found themselves navigating turbulent editorial waters, revealing quite a bit about their institutional backbone in the process.
What makes this particularly unsettling is how quickly television news organizations capitulated. As Darcy noted, a review of transcripts revealed “an alarming reality: not one of the outlets could muster up the courage to simply refer to it as the Gulf of Mexico, the water feature’s name since the 16th century.” Instead, they performed “linguistic gymnastics” to avoid angering Trump while also not fully embracing his invented terminology.
Darcy could only find one instance where a journalist used “Gulf of Mexico” on air. NBC’s Tom Costello briefly called it that before quickly backtracking: “Six hours from right now, there will be a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico,” he said, before correcting himself. “Sorry, however you want to call the Gulf. It will be splashing down in the Gulf.” This self-censorship speaks volumes about the climate of fear that has already taken hold.
This decision wasn’t without consequence. The AP’s refusal to fall in line led the Trump White House to limit its reporters’ access to the Oval Office and Air Force One, resulting in a lawsuit. This is exactly what makes the AP’s decision so important—they knew the likely consequences and stood their ground anyway.
USA Today went full compliance mode, referring to it as the Gulf of America with a brief explanatory note: “Dolphins are often seen in the Gulf of America, recently renamed by President Donald Trump from the Gulf of Mexico.” This might seem like a small concession, but it’s not. It’s essentially allowing a president to redefine geographic reality through executive fiat. The fact that they so readily adopted the new terminology speaks volumes about their editorial independence.
To be clear: This isn’t about a name on a map, but about the willingness of news organizations to bend to political pressure, and what that means for the future. As Darcy writes, “If American journalists flinch at merely calling a centuries-old body of water what it has always been known as, what will they flinch at next?” He’s absolutely right to point out that “this isn’t saying that anyone should write a piece that’s like, ‘Here at the Trump rally, I stand among thousands of uniquely evil beings!’ because that’s not the point—and they’re not uniquely evil, they’re people.”
The most disturbing part is how quickly this linguistic capitulation happened. We’re not talking about years of pressure—this happened within months of Trump taking office. If they can’t even call the Gulf of Mexico by its name, how can we trust news organizations to stand firm on matters of constitutional rights, democratic norms, or international law?
As Darcy concludes, “It may seem like a small choice—one name on a map—but capitulating on the issue is a crack in the Fourth Estate’s foundation. And cracks, well, they have a way of spreading.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.
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