‘She Is So Cringe’: Lauren Boebert Warns Trump Could Change DC’s Name to District of America In Congressional Meeting Quip, But It Doesn’t Land the Way That She Thinks
First, there were freedom fries, French fries rebranded by Republicans in Congress angry that France had refused to support the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Twenty-two years later, Donald Trump lowered the bar even more, when, seemingly on a whim, he announced the Gulf of Mexico would now be known as the Gulf of America. Even though he didn’t have the authority to change the name of a body of water bordered by three countries, corporations including Google Maps capitulated and made the switch.
But not everyone has acquiesced. The Associated Press continued calling it the Gulf of Mexico and was banned indefinitely from the Oval Office and Air Force One.
Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, adept at meeting the lowest expectations, on Tuesday, issued a warning to those who don’t show the proper respect for the gulf’s rechristening that this Orwellian wordplay could get even more childish.
“I would caution my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to refrain from making jokes about the Gulf of America because next up may be the District of America that we are working on,” Boebert told snickering House Democrats.
So just, you know, keep the jokes at bay, and maybe we’ll just stick with the Gulf of America for now,” she sneered.
However, some social media users who saw a clip of Boebert’s remarks on X pointed out a glaring difference between the Gulf of Mexico and the District of Columbia.
“Does she realize it isn’t District of Colombia as in the country, it is District of Columbia as in Christopher Columbus?” one X user wrote. “Are we sure she earned a GED?” someone else replied.
“She is so cringe,” wrote another.
Whether Boebert came up with the idea on her own or was dropping a test grenade for the president, it’s difficult to ponder what would be the benefit of such a move. Just changing the stationary would cost millions in what is supposed to be a period of austerity. Or it could be just giving Washington voters the middle finger, reminding them that even though they live in The District of America, their votes don’t count.
Boebert’s remarks came during a legislative hearing for the Gulf of America Act, which would bolster Trump’s executive order through technical amendments. The name change was one of the first acts of Trump’s second term. He also reversed the name of Alaska’s Denali Mountain back to Mount McKinley.
Trump has not officially endorsed or even mentioned a name change for the city. Suggestions on social media that he was pushing for a District of America were widely rebuffed.
But Trump has been particularly hostile toward the district since beginning his second term. In February, he announced his support for a federal takeover of Washngton. Congress, under terms of the city’s Home Rule authority, currently vets all D.C. laws and can even overturn them.
Some House Republicans want to tighten that grip, removing the city’s autonomy and placing it back under complete federal control.
Trump said a takeover was necessary due to high rates of crime and homelessness.
“I think we should take over Washington, D.C. — make it safe,” the president said. “I think that we should govern District of Columbia.”
In the meantime, D.C. officials are fearing massive budget cuts that would dramatically impact essential services. A funding bill passed by the House this week calls for $1.1 billion in cuts to the city’s budget.
“The pace with which they are moving is different,” said D.C. City Council member Christina Henderson. ”You could call it reckless. This is very uncharted territory for us.”
Jasmine Tyler, executive director of the Justice Policy Institute, told The Associated Press that the very thing Republicans have complained about, such as crime — which decreased last year — will immediately be impacted. “It will happen overnight,” she said. “This means law enforcement, teachers, public service cuts. Is the trash going to be collected?”
Some have even suggested chaos is just what the Republicans want, with an underfunded city struggling to provide for its residents forced to turn to Congress, which would then assume greater control.