U.S. President Donald Trump suggested his greater willingness to exercise presidential power is a key reason to support the Republican Party at next month’s midterm elections.
Speaking in Northern Kentucky on Saturday, 17th October, Trump pointed to his administration’s adoption of the name Gulf of America as evidence that his second presidency operates differently.
President Donald J. Trump speaks with members of the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, April 16, 2026, en route Joint Base Andrews for a trip to Las Vegas. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)
President Donald Trump is joined by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Vice President JD Vance, British Ambassador Peter Mandelson, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, while announcing a trade agreement with the U.K., Thursday, May 8, 2025, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)
“I don’t think I could have done this in my first term,” Trump told supporters. “This is a much more powerful term. I can do unbelievable stuff.”
In fact, some experts see him crossing redline after re
Renaming Water
Renaming the Gulf of Mexico was one of Trump’s very first acts as president when he returned to the White House in January 2025. An executive order instructed federal agencies to use the term “Gulf of America” in official documentation.
Trump’s rallies, while often lengthy, tend to follow key themes as he travels across the country to secure a GOP congressional majority for his last two years in office. Trump again referenced his desire to rename bodies of water at a separate rally in South Carolina on Wednesday, 21st October, claiming he spoke with Google about naming the Atlantic Ocean after himself.
The President said he “called Google Maps” to consider changing the Atlantic to “Trump Ocean,” adding that he had spoken to Google CEO Sundar Pichai about the idea. “And I said, ‘Sundar, I’m thinking of the Atlantic Ocean. Can you handle it?” Trump said on Wednesday.
Trump said Google rejected the idea because of many countries share a coastline with the Atlantic.
The Omar Investigation
Trump has spent little time campaigning in states where he has little chance of winning, so a trip to Minnesota, a state that has not voted Republican since the 1970s, has not been on his tour so far.
However, a Democrat in the President’s crosshairs has been Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, whose home was raided by Homeland Security earlier in this month.
A judge approved the search warrant, meaning a judge authorized the raid rather than a presidential instruction.
Reuters subsequently reported that investigators were examining possible false statements in immigration paperwork involving Omar or her relatives.
Omar denied wrongdoing and described the search as political intimidation.
A search is not a finding of guilt.
Nor does judicial authorization settle whether political considerations influenced the decision to pursue an investigation.
Trump, nevertheless, has sought to capitalize on his opponent’s legal troubles.
On Wednesday, the President said Omar could be deported or face jail if she is found guilty of immigration fraud, using an expletive to describe her home country of Somalia.
Presidential Power
Trump hasn’t been hesitant to wield his presidential power, and he’s far from the first second-term president to do so.
In January 2014, Barack Obama described using executive and administrative actions to advance his agenda while continuing to work with a Republican-controlled Congress.
According to presidential historian Tevi Troy, Obama uses his control of the executive branch to attack political or cultural opponents.
“His goals include going after some of his opponents, reining in ‘woke’ or ‘DEI’ stuff at universities, pushing back against the media,” Troy told NPR. “He’s what I call a unilateralist. He doesn’t have an ideology; he has a methodology. And the methodology is unilateralism.”
A Sign of Things to Come
Republican strategist Ryan Williams, who helped lead Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, told the publication that the President would use any levers of control in a political fight.
“Trump has made it very clear that he wants to approach his second term in a way where he gets what he wants,” Williams said. “He’s the president, he’s the boss, and he’s not going to be restrained by traditions or aides that may say you should hold back.”
The limits of Trump’s presidential power may soon be tested.
All opinion polls point to a Democratic Party victory at the midterm elections in just under a fortnight.
If the Democrats take control of at least one chamber of Congress, Trump’s final two years in office will become considerably more complex.
Trump has shown he’s more willing to use presidential power in his second term.
An opposition-controlled Congress may stretch those boundaries even further.
About the Author: Shay Bottomley
Shay Bottomley is a British journalist. He has written for the Western Standard, Business Insider, Maidenhead Advertiser, Slough Express, Windsor Express, Berkshire Live and Southend Echo.
