On Thursday, during a rally in South Carolina, President Donald Trump performed a bizarre pantomime of a conversation he claims to have had with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. What's more, he declared she is "beautiful," complaining that he's not supposed to admit it.
Trump was boasting about changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America," when he said, "The president of Mexico: 'Please, please' -- really a nice woman, a beautiful voice. You're not allowed to say that. You call a woman beautiful today and that's the end of your political career, so I never do that. You can think it, barely, but you're not allowed to say, 'What a beautiful woman.' And she is a beautiful woman and she's got a beautiful voice. And she called me, 'No, no, president, please, please. Tell me it's not so.' I said, what. 'You changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico? It was named the Gulf of Mexico 350 years ago.' They're 100 years older. They're 350 and we're 250. I said, yes yes, it is so. 'Oh no.' Oh, yes. This was not a pleasant conversation...but now it's the Gulf of America and everybody's happy."
Mexico is not, in fact, 150 years older than the U.S. It actually won its independence 50 years after the United States, and the Gulf of Mexico has borne that name since 1550 -- for nearly 500 years. What's more, Trump declared that he "never" calls women beautiful, though he has a long track record of commenting on the appearance of women, both positively and negatively. In October 2025, for example, he called Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni a "beautiful young woman" during a Gaza war peace summit, even then asserting his claim that calling a woman beautiful would end a politician's career, but saying he would "take his chances." Trump has also commented on Sheinbaum's "beautiful voice" in the past.
Trump's latest "beautiful" rally incident came amidst a swirl of controversy surrounding his campaign events. In recent weeks, his rallies have been interrupted by frequent protests, including by two separate protesters during the event in South Carolina. During the rally, it was suddenly announced that an event scheduled in Kansas for Sunday -- Trump's final weekend rally before Election Day -- had been canceled following vocal protests at his last appearance there. Many commentators suggested that recent polling may have something to do with the cancellation. As one noted, "Round trip to/from Kansas is a long way to go for a race some Republicans have thought is a lost cause for more than a week."
