'So we have a lake. And we have a gulf. Now we need a river, and we need an ocean'

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U.S. President Donald Trump’s quest to change the names of bodies of water to reflect America continues, but his latest request was shot down.
Trump has already ordered the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America and Lake Ontario to Lake Mexico, but now he would like to add the Atlantic Ocean to the roster.
“So we have a lake. And we have a gulf. Now we need a river, and we need an ocean,” he said during a rally in Clemson, S.C. on Wednesday.
“We’ve got the gulf. We’ve got a beautiful lake,” Trump told supporters. “Now, somebody said, ‘You need a river. We need a river.’ We need an ocean.”
However, Google CEO Sundar Pichai discouraged the Atlantic be changed to – wait for it – Trump Ocean.
What Trump said
During a rally in Clemson, S.C., on Wednesday, Trump listed all the locations he has renamed and while he insisted he had no intention of changing the names of the Hudson River in New York or the Mississippi River, the Atlantic had been considered.
“I only like two oceans – the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean,” Trump said. “I’m not going to put either Trump or America on any other ocean but these two.”
He continued: “So, we seriously looked at the Atlantic Ocean and I called Google Maps, who were really great with the Lake (America), and I spoke to a brilliant guy, Sundar (Pichai). He heads all of Google. He’s a brilliant guy.”
Trump claimed he approached Google on the switch and asked if they can “handle it,” but the President joked that Google Maps was still “rattled from the Gulf (of America)” name change and put the kibosh on his pitch.
“No, no, no, this time I’m not doing it, (Pichai) said,” Trump claimed. “He said, ‘Oceans are different, sir. They cover a lot of countries. Please don’t ask us to do that.’ So, I’ll probably pass.”
Trump then asked the crowd for their thoughts, before adding, “I think let’s keep it the Atlantic Ocean.”
Trump: I think let's keep it the Atlantic Ocean, right? Pacific Ocean—we're going to call it the American Ocean. How do you think Europe, how do you think Europe would feel? Do you think they'd like that? pic.twitter.com/PyV4UjZv5G
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 21, 2026
‘We need an ocean’
The U.S. President previously suggested renaming either the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans.
Speaking at a rally in Clarksville, Tennessee, on Oct. 10, Trump had suggested renaming either the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean.
“We’ve got the gulf. We’ve got a beautiful lake,” Trump told supporters at a rally in Clarksville, Tenn., on Oct. 10. “Now, somebody said, ‘You need a river. We need a river.’ We need an ocean.”
He then proposed “Trump Ocean” or “Ocean of the Americas” as possible contenders.
“No, we have to,” he said at the time. “We should have, before I get out, we should have an ocean and we need a great river.”
The President also repeatedly floated the renaming of Strait of Hormuz to “Trump Strait.”

Previous name changes
Last year, Trump declared that, moving forward, the Gulf of Mexico would be known as the “Gulf of America.”
In August, he ordered Lake Ontario to be referred to as “Lake America” as the trade war between the U.S. and Canada rages on.
Google Maps and Apple Maps abided by both changes following Trump’s orders for Americans.
Meanwhile, MapQuest and all federal and provincial maps in Canada have maintained their actual names.
This comes after Trump recently recommended that New Mexico be called “New America,” arguing the new name “would add great value and prestige to the State.”
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