President Donald Trump has pushed to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” and Lake Ontario to “Lake America.”
Now, get ready for the “Gulf of Cleveland.”
Cleveland’s City Council voted to pass a resolution to rename part of Lake Erie as the “Gulf of Cleveland,” a satirical move poking fun at the president’s own renaming efforts. The resolution, spearheaded by council member Kris Harsh, does not have the force of law. A City Council spokesperson said the vote was 13-1.
In Monday remarks at a City Council meeting, Harsh said Trump “is a man who clearly isn’t afraid to say what no one is thinking.”
“I feel emboldened to take the extraordinary step of renaming Lake Erie as the Gulf of Cleveland today,” he said.
The move is the latest instance of Trump’s critics pushing back on his unusual moves to rename bodies of water after the U.S. — or even after himself — this time through humor. While Trump can order the government to rename the bodies of water in official communications, he does not have the power to force international entities, or everyday Americans, to use the new names.
“Keep in mind, there’s a very real person in Pennsylvania right now who wants to rename it the Lake of Pennsylvania,” Harsh deadpanned in Monday’s speech. “We cannot, as Ohioans, let the Pennsylvanians get a jump on us. It’s our lake.”
Describing potential pushback, Harsh acknowledged Lake Erie is not a gulf. “And I say, ‘Who cares?’’ he said. “Listen to me very carefully and jot this down: Words don’t matter.”
Harsh also joked that he wanted Apple and Google to “recognize our sovereignty” and depict the body of water as the “Gulf of Cleveland” on their maps — a jab at the companies’ decisions to change the names on their maps from the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” and from Lake Ontario to “Lake America” following Trump’s orders directing the executive branch to do the same.
“Words don’t matter, but the whims of powerful white men like me do,” Harsh said, satirically.
Reached for comment on Harsh’s move and comments, the White House did not directly address the resolution but defended the president’s decision to rename Lake Ontario.
“Canada has been a bad neighbor by ripping off our country for years,” said White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers. “President Trump promised voters that he would not allow our country to be taken advantage of anymore, which is why he is fighting so hard to protect American industries and workers. Thanks to the President’s bold leadership, we are putting America back on the map.”
In recent weeks, Trump has also shared a series of social media posts floating the idea of renaming New Mexico as “New America,” although he cannot unilaterally change the name of a state.
The president’s decision to sign an executive order to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” came amid heightened tensions with Canada after the collapse of trade talks and imposition of tariffs between the two countries. The president’s executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico came on his inauguration day.
The president also recently said he would declare the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory and floated renaming the waterway as the “Trump Strait.” Shipping through the strait, which borders Iran, has significantly dropped since the war with that country began, contributing to a spike in global oil prices.
In another recent satirical jab at Trump’s renaming efforts, the creators of the comedy show “South Park” announced last week that they would rename the program to “South America” in the upcoming season.
“Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA,” the show announced in a statement.
In a Tuesday phone interview, Harsh told NBC News that “sometimes it seems like nationally the administration is equal parts cruel and absurd.”
“As often as they do things that are just heartless and a gut punch to the American people, they turn around and do things that are just so ridiculously absurd you have to scratch your head and wonder if we’re living in a circus or not,” he said, pointing to Trump’s orders to rename the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario.
Harsh said he had also heard about a Republican effort to push for the federal government to rename Lake Erie as “Lake Pennsylvania,” appearing to refer to a resolution by Pennsylvania state Rep. David Maloney, a Republican.
“I thought, if this is just going to race to the bottom, let’s just jump to the end of the line and see what’s the dumbest thing we can come up with,” Harsh said. “So I thought naming Lake Erie the ‘Gulf of Cleveland’ would be, just perhaps — perhaps pull back the curtain a little bit and let people see how absurd this entire thing has become.”
