CNN anchor Jake Tapper used President Donald Trump's "Gulf of America" term to refer to the body of water where the U.S. astronauts splashed down when returning to Earth on Tuesday.

Tapper reportedly began his 5 p.m. show "The Lead" on Tuesday by providing minute-by-minute coverage of the return of the SpaceX Dragon, which brought stranded NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore home after spending 286 days in space.

"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 told his viewers, according to a CNN transcript.

"We're closely tracking every step of this journey and we'll bring you the re-entry and the splashdown live," he said.

Tapper, a longtime foe of Trump's, again referred to the body of water as the "Gulf of America" during an exchange with former NASA astronaut Scott Altman at another point in the program.

After Altman made a comment about the G-force pushing down on the space capsule as it reenters the atmosphere, Tapper said, "It's going into the Gulf of America, what they call around the world the Gulf of Mexico."

In a move that has sparked controversy, Trump signed an executive order shortly after his inauguration on Jan. 20 renaming the body of water the "Gulf of America."

As federal agencies have begun adopting the administration's name change, private organizations are seemingly split on implementing it.

Google and Apple both updated their maps with the Trump-approved "Gulf of America" for U.S. users, but kept the original "Gulf of Mexico" name for international users.

The Associated Press locked horns with Trump last month over the wire service's editorial style that refers to the Gulf of Mexico by its original name — which it has carried for 400 years — while also acknowledging the president's preferred term.

The AP's refusal to "align its editorial standards" with the Trump White House has led to the administration limiting its reporters' access to the Oval Office and other key spaces. The outlet has since filed a lawsuit citing First Amendment violations.

• Wire Services Decry 'Any Steps' to 'Limit' WH Access
• Trump: AP Restricted Until 'Gulf of America' Adopted