A majority of Americans disapprove of President Donald Trump’s recent renaming of Lake Ontario as Lake America, part of his escalating feud with Canada.
About 63 percent of respondents said they opposed Trump’s renaming, while 14 percent said they supported the change, according to a poll released Tuesday by Ipsos and Reuters. About 21 percent said they didn’t know about the name change or were not sure of their views.
Among Republicans, 43 percent said they opposed the name change, while 33 percent said they supported it. The poll was conducted over a three-day period after Trump signed an executive order Thursday, making the change “effective immediately.”
In the same poll, about 57 percent of respondents said they opposed the United States placing new, additional tariffs on Canada, while 20 percent said they supported it. An array of Canadian imports are subject to new 50 percent tariffs after U.S.-Canada trade talks collapsed last month.
Trump cited the trade war when announcing Lake Ontario’s name change, accusing the northern U.S. neighbor and longtime ally of “ripping us off for a long time on trade.” The move has divided American residents who live on the lake’s shores.
Canadian officials have in turn issued retaliatory tariffs and insisted the lake’s name is unchanged. An enormous new sign on the Canada side of the lake now reads: “Lake Ontario. Now and Always.”
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