Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) said President Trump's executive order renaming Lake Ontario to "Lake America" is probably a deliberate provocation rather than a lasting policy change, even as federal agencies and major tech platforms begin using the new designation.
"I'm pretty sure this is a troll," Tenney, whose 24th Congressional District hugs much of New York's Lake Ontario shoreline, told TMZ when asked whether local businesses should adopt the new name.
Trump signed an executive order last week directing the Interior Department and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to officially rebrand the Great Lake, which borders Canada. The move came as trade negotiations between Washington and Ottawa collapsed, with Trump imposing a 50 percent tariff on $20 billion worth of Canadian imports and floating the name change shortly after talks broke down. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded with retaliatory "dollar-for-dollar" tariffs effective Sept. 8.
Tenney indicated that officials and businesses in her district are taking a wait-and-see approach. "I think a lot of our counties are just staying right now on course because they don't know if this is really a permanent thing or really just a part of a kind of hardball negotiations going on between the president and the prime minister in Canada," she said.
"I don't know how permanent people think this is right now," Tenney added. "I mean, name changes come and go."
The Republican lawmaker suggested the executive order was aimed at needling Ottawa rather than rebranding the lake for the long term. "Trump, you know, likes to troll people and put out name changes," she said. "We'll see how long this lasts."
The move echoes Trump's first-day executive action renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America," a change that also drew skepticism and legal challenges. Canada has rejected the Lake America designation, and the name change does not compel other countries to stop using Lake Ontario.
Despite the uncertainty, the new name is already appearing in U.S. digital maps. Both Google Maps and Apple Maps have switched to "Lake America" for U.S. users after the federal geographic database was updated.
The controversy comes as Trump's political operation builds a massive war chest for the midterms, but some GOP lawmakers worry his polarizing moves could hurt the party's Senate majority. Tenney's comments highlight a broader unease among Republicans about the durability of Trump's symbolic gestures.
For now, Tenney is advising constituents to stick with the traditional name until the administration's intentions become clearer. "We'll see how long this lasts," she repeated.
