President Donald Trump hit the ground running after his inauguration last Monday, making sweeping changes such as delaying the TikTok ban and potentially making all Americans female. He also signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America" and Denali as "Mount McKinley."
Despite this, Google Maps and Apple Maps have not yet been updated to reflect these new names — and realistically might not make the change at all.
Issued on Monday, Trump's executive order declared that Denali, the highest peak in North America, would be renamed Mount McKinley after the 25th U.S. president. The order also said the Gulf of Mexico would be renamed the Gulf of America, directing the U.S. government's Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) to remove all references to the Gulf of Mexico.
"[A]ll federal references to the Gulf of America, including on agency maps, contracts, and other documents and communications shall reflect its renaming," Trump's order read.
However, Trump's order only applies to the U.S. government's official position. Though headquartered in the U.S., corporations such as Google and Apple aren't beholden to the president's directive to rename the landmarks, raising questions as to whether they'll update their popular map services to reflect the government's stance.
Google Maps and Apple Maps still retain Gulf of Mexico and Denali's names
Mashable's investigation found that neither tech giant appears to have made any changes yet. At the time of writing, Denali and the Gulf of Mexico are still named as such in both Apple and Google Maps.
Searching for "Mount McKinley" on Apple or Google Maps directs users to the correct mountain, however, it is still labelled Denali on both. Google Maps also amends the search query to "Denali," though Apple Maps does present a pop-up bearing the mountain's Trump-approved name if that is what you searched for. This pop-up may not be new, as the mountain was called Mount McKinley up until a decade ago, when the name Denali was restored.
Meanwhile, an Apple Maps search for "Gulf of America" directs users to the Gulf of Alaska instead. The same search on Google Maps in the U.S. showed Mashable a list of businesses called "Gulf America." Searching Google Maps from Australia produced a broad overview of Northern America, though the Gulf of Mexico did appear as the first suggested location in the results. Repeating the search also had Google Maps suggest the Gulf of California.
Neither Apple nor Google Maps appear to have removed any references to the Gulf of Mexico.
The fact that no changes seem to have been made does not mean none will be. Trump's executive order included a 30-day timeframe for modifications to be made, with even the GNIS still listing the sea as the Gulf of Mexico and the summit as Denali. Even so, this hasn't stopped some overzealous Google Maps users from taking to its community forum, demanding to know why the Gulf of Mexico has not been relabelled as the Gulf of America.
Mashable has reached out to both Google and Apple for comment.
It seems likely that even if Apple and Google decide to defer to Trump, they may only relabel the landmarks for people accessing their maps from within the U.S. Other countries don't have to adhere to Trump's renaming and are unlikely to follow his lead on this matter.
Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum already reacted to Trump's executive order earlier this week, stating, "For us, it is still the Gulf of Mexico, and for the entire world, it is still the Gulf of Mexico." When Trump initially raised the idea of renaming the Gulf earlier this month, Sheinbaum had sarcastically suggested renaming the U.S. "América Mexicana," or "Mexican America."
Apple previously defied international consensus in 2019 by marking Crimea as Russian territory for users accessing Maps and Weather apps from within Russia. However, Russia's parliament indicated at the time that this was due to legislative requirements demanding such a change.
Trump renames the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, Denali as Mount McKinley
Trump renamed Denali and the Gulf of Mexico in his executive order "Restoring Names that Honor American Greatness," signing it within hours of being sworn in.
"The Gulf will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping America’s future and the global economy, and in recognition of this flourishing economic resource and its critical importance to our Nation’s economy and its people, I am directing that it officially be renamed the Gulf of America," read the order.
The president proposed the name change days before he took office, claiming that the U.S. owns the Gulf and does "most of the work there." The Gulf is bordered by the U.S., Mexico, and Cuba, and is an important site of offshore petroleum drilling, but it is not owned by any one country.
Trump further ordered that Denali, the highest mountain in North America, be called Mount McKinley once more — another change he put forward in the lead-up to his inauguration.
Though the mountain was first dubbed Mount McKinley in 1896 after then-presidential nominee William McKinley, Native Americans knew it as Denali long before. Former president Barack Obama subsequently restored the mountain's original name in 2015.
Trump's executive order reversed that decision, renaming the mountain Mount McKinley to "[honour] President McKinley for giving his life for our great Nation and dutifully [recognise] his historic legacy of protecting America’s interests and generating enormous wealth for all Americans."
McKinley was the third sitting U.S. president to be assassinated, dying in 1901.
The executive order did specify that Denali National Park and Preserve will continue to be called as such, and that the government will "work with Alaska Native entities and state and local organizations to adopt names for landmarks to honor the history and culture of the Alaskan people." However, Denali will henceforth be named after a president who never visited nor had any connection to Alaska.
The Gulf of Mexico/America and Denali/Mount McKinley may not be the only landmarks that Trump renames either. His executive order also stated that his administration may seek recommendations on "additional patriots to honor," particularly in the lead up to the Declaration of Independence's 250th anniversary next year.
