President Trump has floated renaming Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” a move he says is under “serious consideration” as the trade war with Canada intensifies. In a Truth Social post Tuesday, Trump offered few specifics but asserted that the U.S. doesn’t “expect to be doing much business with Ontario any longer.”
The suggestion drew immediate pushback from Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who dismissed it as “a lot of rhetoric” in an interview with CNN. But the Great Lake would hardly be the first landmark to get a new name under Trump’s second term, which has seen a series of executive actions and administrative decisions aimed at rebranding everything from natural features to federal buildings.
Shortly after taking office in January 2025, Trump signed orders to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and to restore Mount McKinley as the official name for Denali, reversing a 2015 Obama-era designation. The changes were framed as honoring American heritage, but critics saw them as political gestures rather than substantive policy.
In February, the Pentagon reverted Fort Liberty in North Carolina back to Fort Bragg. The base had been renamed in 2023 under a congressionally mandated process to strip installations of names honoring Confederate officers. The reversal was part of a broader effort by the administration to push back on what it calls “woke” military culture.
In December, the administration quietly changed the name of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to the National Laboratory of the Rockies. The lab, which is a key player in clean energy research, has been at the center of the administration’s push to pivot federal energy priorities toward fossil fuels. States are stepping up on clean energy even as Washington shifts course.
Trump has also weighed in on names outside his direct authority, including urging the Washington Commanders football team to revert to a name that many consider a slur against Native Americans. That suggestion, made on social media, has not been acted upon by the team.
The president’s name, signature, and likeness have also appeared on a range of official and unofficial items during his second term. “Limited edition” passports, National Park Service passes, and even currency have been produced with his branding. His name has been added to the Kennedy Center and the U.S. Institute of Peace building, and Florida’s Palm Beach International Airport now goes by “President Donald J. Trump International Airport.”
The Lake Ontario proposal comes as the administration’s tariffs on Canadian goods have sparked a broader diplomatic spat. Canada has announced retaliatory tariffs, and the dispute has become a flashpoint in border-state politics. Republicans in those states are feeling the heat ahead of the midterms.
While the renaming of Lake Ontario remains hypothetical, it fits a pattern of unilateral branding that has defined much of Trump’s second-term agenda. The proposal has already drawn mockery from Democrats, including Rep. Debbie Dingell, who suggested “Lake Natalie” as an alternative. Whether the administration follows through remains to be seen, but the episode underscores how the trade war has spilled into symbolic territory.
