Trump hypes Delta Airlines for “embracing MAGA” with “Gulf of America” change—here’s what really happened

President Donald Trump got his supporters all riled up after learning that Delta Airlines has begun officially referring to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

What is the Gulf of America?

One of Trump’s first orders of business when he got back into the White House was to declare that the Gulf of Mexico should now be referred to as the Gulf of America.

Realistically, the U.S. cannot force this renaming internationally, just like it wouldn’t be able to change the names of other countries, bodies of water, or landmarks that aren’t part of the U.S. But Trump and MAGA have continued on this quest to force anyone they can to call it Gulf of America all the same.

Why did Delta change Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America?

Social media is currently flooded with MAGA disciples crowing about how liberals are freaking out over the change. While it’s true that those who haven’t drank the Kool-Aid had very strong reactions to the idiocy of this arbitrary “Gulf of America” change back when Trump gave the executive order, that’s come and gone. The majority of Americans oppose the name change, but not many people seem particularly up in arms about this small shift for Delta at the moment.

And part of the reason for that lack of reaction could be because, unlike this Delta captain allegedly claimed, this doesn’t have anything to do with Delta “embracing MAGA.”

“Those changes were mandated by the FAA,” a Delta spokesperson told the New York Post.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it would update its own charts during “the next publication cycle” back in February. As a U.S. government agency, they do, in fact, have a legal obligation to do as Trump ordered in this scenario. Likewise, Delta and other airlines must comply with FAA regulations in order to operate and ensure flight safety.

The FAA is similarly behind any changes between Notice to Airmen vs Notice to Air Missions. The initial shift was mandated under the Biden administration in 2021, and its reversal was announced in February 2025 as well.

At the time, Texas Senator Ted Cruz accused the FAA of focusing on virtue signaling rather than “focusing on safety.” He has failed to make a similar accusation regarding the “Gulf of America” or about the FAA changing the term back to Notice to Airmen four years later.

Regardless, it would appear both of these changes simply took time to go into effect—but they definitely have nothing to do with Delta going “woke.” Now, whether Trump knew that and just wanted to take the opportunity to rile up his supporters as per usual, or whether he remains that clueless about how the government works, is still up for debate.