Apple executives’ decision to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America” on its Maps app is setting off a firestorm inside the tech giant, with employees furious that leadership caved to President Donald Trump out of fear of his wrath, according to a new report.
Employees are furious that the company is rolling over because of higher-ups’ fear of the wrath of President Donald Trump who demanded the name change in an executive order, media watchdog Status reported Wednesday.
At the same time the public is rejecting the “deeply stupid” name change, which Google has also agreed to follow, Apple was late to the game and employees are not happy.
The controversy intensified after Interior Secretary Doug Burgum appeared on Fox Business on Monday, telling host Maria Bartiromo, “I know that the president reached out to Apple directly, so I’m sure that we may be seeing that change coming up soon to Lake America.”
According to Oliver Darcy at Status, “While Apple had likely always planned to update its map to reflect the executive order—it had, after all, also swapped Gulf of Mexico for ‘Gulf of America’—Status has learned that executives at the company were irked by Burgum’s comments. By disclosing that Trump had personally phoned Cupertino, the White House had framed any decision Apple made as one in which it ‘was capitulating to the president’s demands.’”
Inside the company, Status reported it would be difficult to find a single employee who genuinely supports the change.
“There is not a soul who is for it,” one person familiar with the matter told Darcy, adding that “everyone considers it f—–g nuts.”
Still, Apple’s leadership and most of its rank-and-file are described as “resigned” to these kinds of concessions under Trump’s second term, understanding “that Trump will f— with the company if the company doesn’t do what he wants,” the person said.
The dispute over Lake Ontario’s name has become one of the more visible flashpoints in Trump’s escalating trade dispute with Canada, whose officials have mocked the renaming effort as absurd. Like Google’s version, Apple’s change applies “only to Maps for users located in the United States.” Canadian users and much of the rest of the world still see the lake listed under its original name.
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