Abdelrahman
Trump’s Ambitious Branding Strategy: Renaming America
By Kayla Epstein, National Digital Reporter
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Former President Donald Trump has long recognized the significance of branding. As a prominent businessman, he famously emblazoned his name across various skyscrapers and lent it to countless products ranging from hotels to wines.
Now, he is launching perhaps his most audacious branding endeavor yet: redefining America itself.
Upon resuming office, Trump signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Additionally, Denali, the traditional name of Alaska’s highest peak, is set to revert back to Mount McKinley, honoring the 19th-century president who was assassinated.
The name Fort Bragg, previously changed from its moniker honoring a Confederate general to Fort Liberty, will now return to its original name. However, this time it will reference a much less contentious soldier from World War II.
A History of Monument Renaming
Notably, Trump is not the first U.S. president to alter the names of landmarks. Barack Obama reinstated the indigenous name Denali for the mountain after extensive advocacy from Alaskans, having previously been known as Mount McKinley for decades.
Similarly, during his presidency, George W. Bush renamed the Caribbean National Forest in Puerto Rico to El Yunque National Forest in 2007, acknowledging the territory’s roots.
Following the 2020 murder of George Floyd, which sparked a national dialogue on racial justice, Congress took measures to rename military bases that carried Confederate names. Consequently, in 2023, under President Joe Biden, the Department of Defense went on to rename nine military installations, including Fort Bragg.
These renaming efforts aim to reflect a specific vision of America and its foundational values.
"The act of naming serves as a vehicle for presidents to reshape their interpretation of the nation," explains Allison Prasch, a political rhetoric professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Prasch notes that Trump’s choices for his second term convey his priorities effectively. "They promote a very nationalist and imperial attitude regarding the United States," she adds.
Nostalgia for America’s Expansionist History
Many of Trump’s naming decisions harken back to a time of American expansionism, encapsulated by the belief in a divine mission to stretch from coast to coast. In particular, President William McKinley’s legacy includes the annexation of territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines, and Hawaii. Trump asserted that his desire to revert to McKinley’s naming was to pay tribute to a leader who “enriched our country through tariffs and talent.”
This ideology appears prevalent in Trump’s current rhetoric, as he has floated ideas about reclaiming the Panama Canal, acquiring Greenland, and even annexing Canada as the "51st state."
Meanwhile, the continued conversation surrounding Fort Bragg signifies an ongoing debate regarding the legacy of the Confederacy—a faction of southern states that separated from the U.S. due to slavery and triggered the Civil War. During Trump’s first term, at the height of a national reckoning around racial justice, Congress mandated the Pentagon to rename bases honoring Confederates, while forbidding future installations from being designated after such figures.
Trump opposed this measure, insisting that "our history as the Greatest Nation in the World will not be tampered with!" Ultimately, Congress overrode his veto with bipartisan consensus.
Historian Connor Williams, a member of the committee advocating for the removal of the Bragg name in 2021, argues that honoring Confederate figures is misplaced. "The issue with Confederates as commemorative subjects is that they possess very little merit," he contends. "They committed treason against the United States."
The Symbolism of Naming
President Biden’s administration renamed Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty in 2023. At the renaming ceremony, Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue remarked, "We seized this opportunity to better ourselves and strive for excellence." However, the name change drew mixed reactions from legislators, former service members, and community residents alike.
Cumberland County Commissioner Jimmy Keefe expressed understanding for the change but lamented the loss of familiarity for many who had positive connections to the base’s name.
Recently, Trump’s new Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, announced the restoration of Fort Bragg’s name, attributing it this time to Private First Class Roland Bragg, a World War II hero rather than the Confederate general.
"This is it," Hegseth declared. "Bragg is back," enthusiasm echoed by local Republican lawmakers.
Controversial Changes and Public Opinion
Despite the changes made during Trump’s administration, many have sparked public outcry. A Marquette University poll revealed that approximately 71% of Americans opposed renaming the Gulf of Mexico, while only 29% supported it.
The discourse surrounding these alterations raises questions about whose narrative will define American history. A poll from Alaska Survey Research indicated that while 47% of Trump’s Alaskan voters supported the name change, opposition among Alaskans overall was two-to-one against it.
Alaska’s legislators—both Democrats and Republicans—came together to urge Trump not to alter Denali’s name. "Changing the name would not only undermine those who have fought to protect Denali’s legacy but also ignore the voices of indigenous communities connected to this land," stated Democratic Representative Maxine Dibert, herself a member of the Koyukon Athabascan tribe.
Looking ahead, while the permanence of Trump’s symbolic name changes remains uncertain, the discussions surrounding them show no sign of waning. This week, a White House action prevented an Associated Press reporter from entering the Oval Office due to the agency retaining "Gulf of Mexico" in its style guide, a move deemed “alarming” by AP executive editor Julie Pace, who argued it infringed on constitutional free speech rights.
In an effort to solidify the new naming conventions, Google has begun to remove negative comments regarding the Gulf of America’s title from its review section.
Renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, while seemingly a mere logistical change, resonates powerfully as a political statement, suggests Prasch. "This transcends geographical designations," she argues, "and becomes a significant rhetorical decision about how we perceive our nation’s narrative."
