We Forgot to Celebrate

Dear Americans, we forgot to do something important. We forgot to celebrate the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. By neglecting the commemoration day, we actually showed a devil-may-care attitude toward the Presidential Proclamation signed on February 9, 2025, declaring that date as the first Gulf of America Day.

But it is my duty to remind you, because I was the one who publicly declared the renaming a geographical absurdity. I also underwent an emotional realization. The renaming worked like a switch that turned me from Trump’s ardent supporter into an independent observer and a critic. It felt like an insult to intelligence, evidence that the President did not read his own orders, and a comprehension that we will be fed empty slogans and fake victories. My worries happened to be true.

The limits of political theater

The proclamation explicitly suggested that public officials and U.S. citizens observe Gulf of America Day “with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.” However, I could not find evidence that any meaningful public observances actually happened. I used both traditional searches and AI-assisted searches, and could locate only a tiny article stating the obvious: even towns on the Gulf coast forgot to celebrate.

There is a question: why? Why did neither the White House, nor red state governments, nor rank-and-file MAGA supporters have a celebratory mood? Maybe the answer is in the keyword “appropriate.” Perhaps it was thought inappropriate to celebrate an insignificant, useless event that boosted patriotism for a minute before paling as other events shifted the national mood.

And those other events did shift it. The administration’s “Golden Age” messaging, “Liberation Day” rhetoric, and talk of territorial expansion at Canada’s and Greenland’s expense did not resonate with most Americans (or at least not for long). Even the flagship policy of Trump’s campaign, immigration, is underwater. Those Americans who supported mass deportation in principle kind of cooled off their enthusiasm after they witnessed the practical implementation of the policy. Many American citizens were detained, two were killed, and the initial response to the tragedy from the administration was not adequate.

The biggest political blunder, though, has been the Epstein files and everything about them. If we recall, the release of the Epstein files was a Trump promise that he campaigned on with his MAGA base. After the victory, Trump thought that the issue he ran on would go away. But he miscalculated. Core MAGA demanded the release of the files and was utterly dissatisfied by the release of an insignificant bundle to conservative influencers that did not contain any new information. The problem did not go away, and Democrats turned it into the main political issue. Any political maneuver to shake it out of the news cycle failed. The problem became persistent, and the release of information is arguably obligated by law. The longer the drama lasts, the more damaging it is for the administration, the President, and the party. Suspicion of a cover-up is growing and could become ingrained in public memory forever.

On a personal level, the American people are not used to a full-blown cult of personality. Amazingly, parts of the Trump-era political theater sometimes resemble a Soviet-style leadership ritual, in which every member praised the dear leader for his mental and organizational abilities. The public language of “Under your leadership…” and “According to your plan…” is starting to sound like compulsory praise.

He put his name on the Kennedy Center, reportedly prompting artists to cancel performances and forcing the Center to close for renovations. The Secretary of Defense, who allegedly wants to be called the Secretary of War, presented a new Trump-class battleship. There has also been a very public mini-saga around the idea of renaming Penn Station after Trump while federal funding for the Gateway/Hudson tunnel project was frozen. We have the Trump Gold Card and TrumpRx. He reacted very positively to AI-generated images of him on Mount Rushmore, and he publicly thanked Rep. Anna Paulina Luna after she introduced a bill directing the Secretary of the Interior to arrange for carving President Trump’s likeness on the monument.

Meanwhile, the Nobel obsession crossed into outright farce. In January 2026, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gave Trump her physical Nobel Peace Prize medal as a symbolic gesture, and he accepted, even though he could have earned some political and character points by showing chivalry and refusing the award. Acceptance of ridiculous trophies, such as the FIFA World Prize or the Undisputed Champion of Beautiful Clean Coal award, reminds me of Brezhnev’s desire to have a medal on his birthdays. This cult-like, Trump-centric behavior became annoying, irritating, and it got out of hand.

The consequences of emotional recoil

I know one thing for sure. When people start ridiculing a politician en masse, there is no cure and no recovery. Once the Soviet people started ridiculing communism and their government in secret, the regime did not have a chance. Many Americans began posting “Student of the Month” awards and the like, suggesting they be given to the President. At that point, no good news can help a politician’s recovery once the mocking takes off. The latest economic data on inflation was celebrated as an unbelievable achievement, yet it has not moved Trump’s approval rating. I feel that, using his terminology, Trump no longer has good cards.

Let’s think about his Iran options. If he gets some kind of agreement with Iran, this will be something that resembles Obama’s one, which Trump terminated in his first term, and Democrats would remind him about that. If he wants regime change, he needs boots on the ground and a full-blown war, and he must ask Congress for permission. This is the worst case. If he simply bombs Iranian nuclear and missile facilities, the question would be: was the report that the first mission was not so successful and prematurely aborted, indeed correct? There is also the question of encouraging Iranian protesters to continue the fight, while promised help has not materialized so far and may be too late.

The coming election could be a bloodbath for Republicans, as they have been losing Hispanics, black voters, women, independents, and even hardcore MAGA voters. Very important is that this loss reflects both disagreement on policies and their implementation, and also an emotional shift: people start to dislike the Trump administration on a personal level. The latter could be even more important than the former, because policies can change, but attitudes take time to switch.

Maybe that is the main reason why there is not much happiness in the air, and America missed an opportunity to get another round of beer on a good occasion.