Google caves to controversial Trump move

Google was under no obligation but its decided to fall in line with a contentious Donald Trump call all the same.

Tech giant Google has said it will fall in line with one of Donald Trump’s most controversial calls since he became US President – despite there being no need to.

On US versions of Google Maps, The Gulf of Mexico will be renamed the “Gulf of America” following an executive order from Mr Trump on January 20, the day he became president.

Google has said it will also rename the US’ highest peak, Denali in Alaska, to Mt McKinley on Maps which Mr Trump also declared had changed.

Executive orders direct the US federal government to make changes and the US Coast Guard began referring to “Gulf of America” immediately.

But they have no bearing on private organisations, such as Google. A new law would be needed for that. But the firm has decided to make the change anyway.

“We’ve received a few questions about naming within Google Maps,” the company said on social media on Monday, US time.

“We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.

“Their policy is to implement title changes for geographic features in the US after the adjustments appear in the Geographic Names Information System.

“When that happens, we will update Google Maps in the US quickly to show Mount McKinley and Gulf of America.”

For now, The Gulf of Mexico is still listed on Google Maps in the US.

While Americans will see “Gulf of America” on Google Maps, that won’t be the case elsewhere.

As Mexico refers to only the “Gulf of Mexico,” only that name will appear to users in Mexico.

For users in the rest of the world both names will appear.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order changing the government name to Gulf of American during his first day in office. Picture: Mandel Ngan / AFP

However, when it comes to Denali, it will be listed as Mt McKinley the world over. That’s because, unlike The Gulf of Mexico which crosses international boundaries, Denali is solely located on US territory. As such, the US name will apply.

The Gulf of Mexico name has been in use since the 16th century, before either the US or Mexico became independent nations.

During his inauguration speech, Mr Trump spoke of his renaming plans.

“A short time from now, we will be changing the name of The Gulf of Mexico to The Gulf of America and we will be restoring the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley, where it should be and where it belongs.”

Clouds partially obscure Denali, the highest mountain peak in North America which has been renamed by President Trump. Picture:Patrick T. Fallon / AFP

However, in Alaska, there was widespread push back on the name change.

Republican senator Lisa Murkowski, a frequent Trump critic despite being in the same party, slammed the move to rename Denali saying she was “so against” it.

“The mountain was named 10,000 years ago by the native people and it is called Denali, which means the great one,” she said.

“So I would just suggest to President Trump, who wants to make everything great, we already have a great name for it, so we’re gonna talk about it. I’ve already talked to him about it.”

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum has suggested that the United States should be called ”Mexican America”, in response to Trump's plan to rename The Gulf of Mexico. Picture: Alfredo Estrella / AFP

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has cheekily suggested calling the United States “Mexican America,” pointing to a map from well before Washington seized one-third of her country in 1848.

“For us it is still The Gulf of Mexico and for the entire world it is still The Gulf of Mexico,” she said Tuesday.

Beyond Mexico, other countries are also distinctly lukewarm on The Gulf of Mexico’s name change.

The United Kingdom, for instance, has said it has no plans to follow suit.

The UK’s Telegraph newspaper said that on UK maps the body of water would remain under its current name unless “Gulf of America” became the most commonly used name globally.

– with AFP.

Originally published as Google caves to controversial Trump move