President Donald Trump’s push to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America” is running into unexpected resistance in the communities that voted for him most heavily, with even loyal supporters facing backlash for uttering the new name out loud.
Trump ordered the change for U.S. federal agencies as a trade dispute with Canada escalated, echoing his January 2025 renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” and the Wall Street Journal sent a reporter to the region to see how the change was working out.
Google and Apple Maps updated to reflect the new name for U.S. users within days. But unlike the Gulf Coast, where the rebrand largely stuck, the response along Lake Ontario has been near-universal rejection — even in Oswego County, where Trump won more than 60 percent of the vote in 2024.
At a recent county legislature meeting, residents showed up wearing Lake Ontario gear and carrying handmade signs defending the name. The Republican-controlled body, which outnumbers Democrats 18 to 7, voted unanimously to denounce “Lake America.”
“It’s Lake Ontario. It’s going to be Lake Ontario. That’s it,” said Majority Leader John Martino, a Trump supporter.
Ivan Justice, a 23-year-old bridge maintenance worker who says he supports “everything Trump does,” admitted he only uses “Lake America” when he wants to annoy people, sticking with “Lake Ontario” otherwise to avoid confusion.
Fishing nearby, longtime Trump backer John Hagner said he tried out the new name once and immediately regretted it. “I did, and two old ladies started screaming at me,” he said. “I was joking around, but people here take it absolutely serious.”
Local business owners have found the controversy has been good for sales. Amanda Miller, who runs the Lake Ontario Gift Shop in Sackets Harbor, said Lake Ontario sweatshirts that had gathered dust for months sold out in three days after customers began specifically requesting them.
Nationally, an August Reuters/Ipsos poll found 63 percent of Americans oppose the renaming, compared with just 14 percent in favor, with more Republicans opposed than supportive.
Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), whose district includes much of the lake’s shoreline, has largely avoided the fight, telling TMZ that “Trump likes to troll people, put out name changes” and that “we’ll see how long this lasts.”
Bob Ruggio, who runs a local Facebook page called Friends of Oswego, said the dispute has turned neighborly conversation into a game of provocation. “It’s more like who can trigger who,” he said. “It’s Lake Ontario … but I don’t post the name Lake Ontario anymore.”
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers defended the move, saying Canada “has been a bad neighbor by ripping off our country for years” and that Trump’s leadership is “putting America back on the map.”
The post Trump’s MAGAfication of the Great Lakes gets his fans ‘screamed at’ appeared first on Raw Story.
