Donald Trump renames Lake Ontario amid trade tensions with Canada
Donald Trump renames Lake Ontario as ‘Lake America’ amid escalating trade tensions with Canada, declaring that the neighboring country has been ripping off the United States. Senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy reports on the Canadian response to the symbolic change.
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The White House on Sunday amplified President Donald Trump’s call to rebrand New Mexico as “New America,” reposting an image from the president’s Truth Social account showing the state’s name crossed out and replaced with “America.”
Trump’s original post featured a map of the Southwestern state with the word “Mexico” crossed out in bright red and replaced with “America,” effectively depicting it as “New America.”
TRUMP RENAMES LAKE ONTARIO ‘LAKE AMERICA’ AMID INTENSIFYING US-CANADA TRADE DISPUTE
The White House later shared the image on its verified X account. Neither post included an explanation or indicated whether it reflected an actual policy proposal.
The post comes just days after Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” for U.S. federal use. The executive order followed a series of tariff disputes between Washington and Ottawa.
Trump said he directed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and the department to update the Geographic Names Information System to reflect the name change. Google and Apple later updated their maps for U.S. users to reflect the change.
MAJORITY OF AMERICANS REJECT TRUMP’S RENAMING OF LAKE ONTARIO TO ‘LAKE AMERICA,’ POLL FINDS
President Donald Trump signs an executive order to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday. (Getty Images)
Trump also signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” early in his second term.
Unlike lakes and other geographic features that can be renamed for federal use through executive action, a president cannot unilaterally rename a U.S. state. Trump and the White House have not announced any formal effort to change New Mexico’s name.
The name “New Mexico” predates the state by centuries. Spanish explorers began using “Nuevo México” in the late 1500s. The territory kept the name after becoming part of the United States in 1848 and later achieved statehood on Jan. 6, 1912.
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President Donald Trump posted a map showing New Mexico relabeled as “New America.” The White House later reposted the image on X. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
The White House and the Office of New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.