After renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America” through an executive order issued in August, and the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” by the same procedure in January 2025, Donald Trump suggested that the next ones could be the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, whose names could be changed.
“We have the gulf. We have a beautiful lake,” Trump declared at a rally organized in Clarksville, Tennessee. “Now, someone said we need a river. […] We need a river. We need an ocean.”
Trump said he might change the name of either the Atlantic Ocean or the Pacific Ocean, and jokingly hinted that the new name could be chosen in his honor, notes The Washington Post.
“Let’s call it ‘The Trump Ocean’ or ‘The Ocean of the Americas’, something like that”, Trump stated, eliciting laughter and applause from the attendees. “Before I leave office, I think we should have an ocean. And we need a big river.”
Last year, Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, a decision that sparked diplomatic tensions with Mexico, a conflict with the Associated Press news agency, after it refused to use the new name, as well as other controversies.
In August, Trump also renamed Lake Ontario, located between the state of New York and Canada, to Lake America. The decision came against the backdrop of a conflict with Canadian leaders over trade and customs duties.
The President can use executive authority to change the names of bodies of water and other geographical features. Private companies that offer online map services have generally accepted the new names proposed by Trump.
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