Gulf of Mexico or America: The Ideological Situation with Trump

Many claim Trump’s “ambition” of renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America is just a stupid, populist propaganda stunt. After all, what’s the use of renaming gulfs when compared to fixing the economy, ending racism, lowering or heightening world tensions (depending on your militaristic leanings), and the many other wonderful things he could be doing? For many, this evaluation of his political stunt seems pretty spot on: it fits all the archetypes we expect from a populist politician. Further serving as a testament to either Trump’s stupidity or immorality (depending on how you see him as a manipulative populist). However, the other side of the argument offers a different perspective, finding some explanation for the absurdity and proposing it as a testament to his genius.

The story I’ve heard so far comes from a source in DC, claiming that renaming the gulf is a brilliant tactic to bypass certain regulations preventing American oil companies from drilling in the Gulf. Changing the name would effectively void the clauses that prevent the US from drilling there, as the clause specified a ban on drilling in the “Gulf of Mexico,” not the “Gulf of America.” In this way, Trump could bypass treaties without actually having to change the laws. However, after a quick search, I couldn’t find a specific law banning oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, but there are tons of rules and regulations, both international and federal, about drilling there. So, while there’s still a possibility this argument could hold water, we’d have to sift through mountains of agreements to figure that out.

However, assessing these stories—or dismissing them—isn’t the goal here. What I’m more interested in is what this event demonstrates. The crucial point is that Trump’s decision-making process is opaque to us. Thus, any assessment of his intelligence is purely speculative: we’re just projecting our own perceptions onto him.

Interestingly, in philosophy, there’s actually a term for this phenomenon: fetishization. Perhaps it’s time to look at Trump in a new light.