CNN anchor Jake Tapper referred to as the physique of water the place the returning astronauts splashed down the Gulf of America in a quick nod to the Trump administration — earlier than including that the remainder of the world nonetheless acknowledges it because the Gulf of Mexico.
“The Lead” host started his 5 p.m. program on Tuesday by offering minute-by-minute protection of the return to Earth of the area capsule carrying stranded NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, together with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
“The 17-hour trip home began around 1 a.m. [ET] 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,” Tapper advised viewers.
“We’re closely tracking every step of this journey and we’ll bring you the re-entry and the splashdown live.”
Minutes later, Tapper made one other reference to the Gulf of America throughout an change with Scott Altman, a former NASA astronaut who supplied evaluation for the community.
When Altman made an commentary in regards to the G-force that pushes down on the capsule carrying the astronauts because it re-enters the ambiance, Tapper stated: “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?”
Shortly after assuming workplace for a second time on Jan. 20, President Trump signed an govt order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” — a transfer that has sparked controversy.
Whereas federal businesses just like the US Board on Geographic Names have begun implementing the change, non-public entities resembling media shops and mapping companies stay divided.
Google and Apple up to date their maps for US customers by referring to the physique of water because the “Gulf of America” however maintained the unique identify elsewhere.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has formally protested the choice, arguing that the US can’t unilaterally rename a world physique of water.
The Related Press nonetheless calls the Gulf of Mexico by its authentic identify, which it has carried for 400 years, whereas acknowledging the identify Gulf of America.
The wire service’s refusal to fall in line led the Trump White Home to restrict its reporters’ entry to the Oval Workplace and Air Drive One, leading to a lawsuit being filed by AP.
Tapper’s feedback are noteworthy on condition that CNN beneath new management has sought to strike a extra balanced strategy towards masking the Trump administration in comparison with the primary go-around between 2017 and 2020.
A CNN spokesperson declined to remark.
Shortly earlier than the inauguration, CNN chief Mark Thompson addressed a bunch of over 100 journalists and outstanding on-air figures, together with Tapper and Anderson Cooper, advising them to chorus from “pre-judging” Trump.
He additionally cautioned them “against expressing any outrage of their own” in the course of the inauguration.
Days after Trump took workplace, long-time antagonist Jim Acosta, the previous White Home correspondent, introduced he was departing CNN after the community advised him his time slot could be moved from late mornings to midnight Japanese Time.
Some observers interpreted the transfer as CNN’s approach of looking for to show a brand new web page with Trump, who incessantly butted heads with Acosta throughout information briefings that he convened in his first time period as president.
The community, which reaped the fruits of a rankings bonanza by spearheading opposition to Trump throughout his first time period in workplace, has since seen its viewership decline precipitously — prompting a radical overhaul of its programming beneath Thompson.
The Trump administration has been at loggerheads with the mainstream press since returning to energy in January.
Main information organizations, together with the New York Instances, NBC Information, and NPR, have been denied entry to workspaces on the Pentagon.
Moreover, the administration has ordered federal businesses to cancel subscriptions to publications resembling Politico and Reuters.
Earlier this month, the administration additionally took steps to close down government-run media shops like Voice of America.
