During a press briefing on Tuesday, President Donald Trump humorously floated the idea of renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of Trump.” However, he quickly clarified to reporters that he was joking.

Yet, the question lingers—was he really joking?

The president made an unexpected appearance at the briefing, which occurred amidst ongoing disputes with European leaders concerning the future of Greenland. What was initially intended as a press conference transformed into a platform for President Trump to highlight his administration’s achievements. According to a White House press release, the list detailed 365 accomplishments as Trump celebrated one year into his second term.

Among these accomplishments was Trump’s decision to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” an executive action he undertook on his first day. This decision was part of his broader agenda to rebrand and reshape the nation’s image.

“I was going to call it the Gulf of Trump, but I thought that I would be killed if I did that,” the president quipped, emphasizing his decision to abandon the idea.

‘I was going to call it the Gulf of Trump, but I thought that I would be killed if I did that,’ the president said. ‘I decided not to do that.’

He then assured reporters that he was just being funny.

‘I’m joking, you know, when I say that I was going to call it the Gulf of Trump,’ he said. 

But then the president floated the idea, ‘maybe we could do that.’ ‘It’s not too late,’ he added. 

President Donald Trump said he considered renaming the Gulf of Mexico the ‘Gulf of Trump’ – and then immediately told reporters he was joking, during a lengthy session Tuesday in the briefing room as he ticked off year one accomplishments 

President Donald Trump is photographed in February 2025 with a ‘Gulf of America’ sign. He changed the name from the Gulf of Mexico on inauguration day, which happened one year ago today

The ‘Gulf of Trump’ quip was among the more lighthearted moments as the briefing room appearance dragged on for more than an hour. 

The president came to the podium armed with a stack of photos of alleged criminal illegal immigrants found by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota – defending ICE agents at length. 

He did say that he felt bad about the death of Minnesota mother Renee Good – especially when he found out that she was the daughter of Trump supporters.

Reporters were given a pack of 365 ‘wins’ for the year Trump has been back in office. 

The president brought an even thicker stack of paper – and after a brief battle with a paperclip – started reading from it. 

‘Oh, I’m glad my finger wasn’t in that sucker,’ the president remarked. ‘That could have done some damage, but you know what? I wouldn’t have shown the pain.’

‘I would have acted like nothing happened as my finger fell off,’ he joked. 

Trump weaved for an hour and 20 minutes before finally taking questions from the press. 

He expressed frustration with Norway for not awarding him the Nobel Peace Prize. 

He lashed out at his political enemies, including ‘son of b****’ former special counsel, Jack Smith, Representative Ilhan Omar and said if California Governor Gavin Newsom became president, he would turn the United States into Venezuela.  

He told reporters ‘you’ll find out’ when asked how far he would go to acquire Greenland. 

At the same time, he hinted there could be a diplomatic solution.

“I think that we will work something out where NATO is going to be very happy,’ he said. 

His Greenland demands became even more outrageous overnight as he shared an AI image of himself, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio planting an American flag on the Danish territory. 

Trump also shared a message written to him by French President Emmanuel Macron. 

Macron had invited Trump to Paris for an emergency G7 meeting to discuss the Greenland matter. 

Trump told reporters that he wasn’t going to take Macron up on his offer – explaining that he doesn’t need to negotiate with the French president because he won’t be in office for much longer.

Macron is expected to leave office in May 2027.

‘There’s no longevity there,’ Trump said. ‘I have meetings with the people that are directly involved.’