Exclusive | Trump to rename Gulf of Mexico, Mount Denali as part of day one executive orders

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Donald Trump will order the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s Mount Denali in his first hours as the 47th president, The Post has learned. 

The Gulf of Mexico will be rechristened the Gulf of America, and Denali, the highest-peaked mountain in North America, will revert back to Mount McKinley — which it was called in the sight of the US government before former President Barack Obama changed the name in 2015.

The renaming of the two natural features is to honor “American greatness,” according to a preview of the orders.

“President Trump is bringing common sense to government and renewing the pillars of American Civilization,” the document says.

The draft document indicated the return of Mount McKinley is of special importance to Trump, with a summit elevation of 20,310 feet making it the tallest peak in North America.

The federal government officially dubbed it Mt. McKinley in 1917 in honor of the Republican president who had been assassinated 16 years year.

McKinley has been an inspiration for Trump, both in terms of his tariff policies and his expansion of US territory following the Spanish-American War.

“McKinley was a very good, maybe a great president,” Trump said at a December Turning Point USA rally in Arizona. “They took his name off Mount McKinley, right? That’s what they do to people. Now, he was a great president, very good president. At a minimum, he was a very good businessman. He was a businessman, then a governor, very successful businessman.”

“President McKinley is honored for giving his life for our great Nation and dutifully recognized for his historic legacy of protecting America’s interests and generating enormous wealth for our Nation,” the draft reads. 

Obama ordered Mount McKinley to be renamed to Denali to honor the indigenous name of the mountain used by the Koyukon Athabaskans, the original inhabitants of Alaska.

The Alaska legislature had asked the federal government to change the name back in 1975.

Trump had also discussed renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in a press conference at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month, saying it has a “beautiful ring.” 

“What a beautiful name and it’s appropriate,” Trump declared on Jan. 7.

The president-elect clashed with Mexico throughout his first term and has threatened to impose high tariffs on the country, especially if it doesn’t halt the flow of migrants across its border with the US.

The gulf, which borders five states — Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida — is one of the premier locations of offshore petroleum production, which Trump has vowed to encourage in his second term.

The draft praised the gulf for being “pivotal” in its maritime industry and in its “energy production, international commerce, tourism, fishing, and recreation.”

Trump, 78, is expected to sign off on the orders in the President’s Room at the Capitol following his swearing-in. He may also sign the orders at the White House following the inaugural parade.

The 47th president is expected to sign nearly 200 executive actions by the end of his first day in office.

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