By ALEX HAMMER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
Published: 10:15 EDT, 24 March 2025 | Updated: 10:16 EDT, 24 March 2025
TV anchors and reporters across a range of networks avoided saying the phrase 'Gulf of Mexico' while reporting on the recent splashdown of several stranded NASA astronauts.
Instead, hosts like Lester Holt and David Muir used imprecise language like 'the Florida coast' and 'the Gulf' to refer to the body of water - a decision seemingly made in apparent deference to Donald Trump. He has since renamed it as the Gulf of America.
More verbal tiptoeing was seen from CBS Evenings' Maurice DuBois and John Dickerson - as their network is said to be mulling a lawsuit settlement with the president.
Even correspondents from CNN and MSNBC abstained from saying the words in said succession, Status's Oliver Darcy was the first to point out. A review of transcripts from the TV monitoring website SnapStream corroborated the claims.
They showed how over the past week, not one major outlet dared to use the full name. Darcy, in turn, speculated the strategy stemmed from unseen, scared executives - wary of again invoking Trump's wrath.
The maritime wonder had held the 'Mexico' moniker for roughly half a millennium - until Trump signed an executive order rechristening it 'the Gulf of America' this year.
At the time, Trump said the took the action 'because [the Gulf] has long been an integral asset to our once burgeoning Nation... and an indelible part of America.'
That was on January 20. And after the coverage surrounding astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Aleksandr Gorbunov this week it seems the gulf's new name is starting to stick.
TV anchors and reporters across a range of networks avoided saying the phrase 'Gulf of Mexico ' while reporting on the recent splashdown of several stranded NASA astronauts
Instead, hosts like Lester Holt used imprecise language like 'the Florida coast' and 'the Gulf' to describe the body of water - a decision made in apparent deference to Donald Trump
'We begin tonight with breaking news here - the spectacular images from off the coast of Florida tonight, astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are back on earth after their eight-day mission that turned into more than nine months in space,' Muir said on the set of World New Tonight.
The rest of the broadcast - and any reference to the event from ABCE over the course of the week - contained similar 'Mexico-less' diction.
The same went for Holt and NBC News, a little more than a month removed from the first day of FCC chairman Brendan Carr's probe into the station's parent company over its diversity, equity, and inclusions programs.
Similar to Muir, the longtime host said the astronauts were simply 'splashing down off the Florida Gulf coast', avoiding a more accurate categorization.
CBS Evening News anchors DuBois and Dickerson used even more loose language - referring to the inlet merely as 'the Gulf.'
Jake Tapper came the closest to calling the body of water by its name, new or old - however, he only did so when speaking hypothetically about the controversy the rebrand has caused.
'The 17-hour trip home began around 1 am this morning. Within the hour, they’re expected to splash down near Tallahassee in an area that the US government now calls the Gulf of America, known everywhere else as the Gulf of Mexico,' he said Tuesday.
'We’re closely tracking every step of this journey and we’ll bring you the re-entry and the splashdown live.'
CBS Evening News anchors DuBois and Dickerson used even more loose language wheb referring to the inlet - a move media maven and Status founder Oliver Darcy said stemmed from unseen, scared executives
Jake Tapper came the closest to calling the body of water by its name, new or old - however, he only did so when speaking hypothetically about the controversy the rebrand has caused
Another reference later on, during an exchange with Scott Altman, a former NASA astronaut who offered analysis for the network, came after Altman made a remark about the G-force that pushes down on the capsule as it re-enters the atmosphere,
Tapper, in turn, said: 'And it’s going into the Gulf of America, what they call around the world the Gulf of Mexico - do they have an idea of where it’s going to land in the gulf?'
The sole instance of a TV journalist openly referring to the body of water as the Gulf of Mexico came on MSNBC, during an appearance from NBC News correspondent Tom Costello.
He used the term before quickly correcting himself, showing how the Trump-era diction is taking hold.
'Six hours from right now, there will be a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico,' he said on the network Tuesday, before reversing course. 'Sorry, however you want to call the Gulf. It will be splashing down in the Gulf.'
“Not one of the outlets could muster the courage to simply refer to it as the Gulf of Mexico, the water feature’s name since the 16th century,” a disgusted Darcy, formerly of CNN, wrote in response.
'Americans tend to believe the press is too independent and too proud to ever bow to government pressure,' he went on.
'We assume that if a president ever tried to dictate language, [the country] would resist. We assume we’re immune from such pressures.'
The sole instance of a TV journalist openly referring to the body of water as the Gulf of Mexico came on MSNBC, during an appearance from NBC News correspondent Tom Costello. He used the term before quickly correcting himself, showing how the Trump-era diction is taking hold
On January 20, Trump signed an executive order rechristening it 'the Gulf of America' - spawning controversy ever since
Instead, the coverage seen over the past week 'quietly demonstrated that it is far less adversarial and far more compliant than the breathless promos these networks air hyping themselves as fearless truth-tellers,' Darcy wrote.
He further categorized the development as 'important, particularly given how Trump has made his desire for land grabs no secret', pointing to the president's very public talks about annexing Canada and seizing control of the Panama Canal.
The prospective takeover of Greenland was also pointed out, as were Trump's comments about claiming the Gaza Strip.
'In other words, each of the outlets made a willful decision to forgo referring to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of Mexico,' Darcy at a point concluded, painting a picture of an unseen, propaganda-fueled power struggle occurring behind
Conceding the strategy had been 'subtle', he said 'it was still an act of submission.'
'Executives at television news organizations may believe that avoiding a term like Gulf of Mexico is a fairly harmless concession. But there is no such thing when dealing with language.
'When the battle is over what words are permitted to be used, cute linguistic gymnastics amount to a surrender.
'Words are the front lines of truth, and once they’re ceded, it becomes far easier for strongmen like Trump to shape reality.'