Late-Night Hosts Mock Trump’s Gulf of Mexico Renaming Plan

Late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and Stephen Colbert took aim at former President Donald Trump‘s recent claims during a pre-inauguration press conference at Mar-a-Lago, including his proposal to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” The hosts dissected Trump’s outlandish statements, which also included plans to buy Greenland and take over the Panama Canal.

“Trump is already reminding us of what a terrible mistake we made,” Kimmel said on Tuesday evening. He mocked Trump’s suggestion to rebrand the Gulf of Mexico, quipping, “Yes, what a beautiful name he spent two seconds thinking of. He still has no healthcare plan, stayed up almost all night drinking Diet Coke to come up with the Gulf of America.”

Kimmel added that the press conference highlighted the “real gulf of America”—the divide between those who support Trump and those who oppose him. “For whatever reason, he loves terrorizing our allies,” Kimmel joked, referencing Trump’s favorable comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin and his adversarial stance toward Canada.

Trump also floated the idea of purchasing Greenland, even sending his son, Don Jr., to post about it on social media. “Who even thinks about buying Greenland?” Kimmel wondered. “Maybe he wants to buy Greenland so he can put Don Jr in charge and leave him there forever.”

Seth Meyers described the press conference as “one of the most insane press conferences he’s ever had, tied for most insane with all the other press conferences he’s ever had.” Meyers highlighted Trump’s claims, including his assertion that special counsel Jack Smith “executes people” and his refusal to rule out using military force to take over Greenland and the Panama Canal. “My man is in mid-season form already,” Meyers joked.

Stephen Colbert also weighed in, noting that Trump’s antics have led many Americans to tune out political news. “Here at The Late Show, we have a self-imposed, ill-conceived mandate to every night talk about what people are talking about,” Colbert said. “The thing is, that was before Trump won re-election. After he won re-election, what people are talking about is that they don’t want to talk about what everybody’s talking about.”

Colbert concluded with a tongue-in-cheek summary of Trump’s rebranding plans: “So now, if I understand this correctly, the Gulf of Mexico will become the Gulf of America, New Mexico will be Dry America, and Cinco de Mayo will be the Fifth of mayo.”