Trump suggests ocean rename

At a rally in Clarksville, Tennessee on Saturday, President Trump suggested renaming the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean. He proposed calling it Trump Ocean or Ocean of the Americas.

“We call it 'Trump Ocean' or 'Ocean of the Americas,' something like that.”

Oceans span multiple jurisdictions

The Atlantic and Pacific are international bodies of water spanning many countries' jurisdictions and the high seas, making any unilateral renaming complicated.

Trump's executive power over names

Trump has executive authority to direct U.S. geographic naming authorities to adopt different names for federal government use. Private mapping services like Google Maps and Apple Maps have previously changed labels for U.S. users.

Trump's renaming track record

In January 2025, Trump signed an order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America and restoring Mount McKinley as the federal name for Denali. In August, he renamed Lake Ontario to Lake America.

“Everyone thinks I kid. Everybody smiled, 'Oh, that's so funny.' I did it, right? It's done.”

Mexico disputes gulf renaming

Mexico argued the U.S. had no authority to rename the Gulf of Mexico, part of which lies within Mexican jurisdiction. Mexico later sued Google over its use of Gulf of America for U.S. users.

Canada rejects Lake Ontario rename

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected Trump's August renaming of Lake Ontario to Lake America, saying Canadians would call it Lake Ontario then, now and always.

“then, now and always.”

Trump muses on crowd approval

At Saturday's rally, Trump told the crowd amid applause that he could say the stupidest things and they would clap, reflecting on the affection he receives at his rallies.

“I could say the stupidest things and you'd clap.”