Trump Floats 'Trump Ocean' for Atlantic or Pacific After Gulf and Lake Renames in Expanding Map Campaign

Donald Trump has suggested that either the Atlantic or Pacific could be renamed the 'Trump Ocean,' extending a series of moves to rebrand major geographic landmarks in US government records.

The president raised the idea at a rally in Tennessee on Saturday 10 October 2026, after directing US federal agencies to use the names 'Gulf of America' and 'Lake America.'

He offered 'Ocean of the Americas' as an alternative and joked about rebranding the Strait of Hormuz. He announced no formal plan, and no country can rename an ocean on its own.

'Before I Get Out': Trump Tells Rally He Wants an Ocean

Trump raised the idea while campaigning in Clarksville for Senator Bill Hagerty and gubernatorial candidate Marsha Blackburn. 'So we've got the Gulf. We've got a beautiful lake,' he told the crowd. 'We'll call it Trump Ocean or Ocean of the Americas.'

He suggested a river could also be on the list, while ruling out the most obvious candidates. 'I don't want to change the name of the Hudson River. That's too much,' he said. 'Now I'm not changing the name of the Mississippi.'

'Before I get out, I think we should have an ocean,' Trump added. He did not specify which ocean he preferred or how a renaming would be carried out.

He also turned to the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically important shipping chokepoint that has been affected by the US conflict with Iran, and suggested it could be called the 'Trump Strait', according to Fox News.

Gulf of America and Lake America: How the Renaming Drive Began

The ocean proposal follows two renamings that Trump has already ordered for US federal use.

On his first day back in office in January 2025, he signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the 'Gulf of America.' Federal agencies adopted the name, and Trump later proclaimed 9 February 2025 the first 'Gulf of America Day.'

The Associated Press was barred from some White House events after it continued to use 'Gulf of Mexico' in its style guidance, while Mexico and other countries kept the established international name.

On 27 August 2026, Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office directing federal agencies to use the name 'Lake America' for Lake Ontario in US government records and maps, ABC News reported. The move came during a trade war with Canada, after negotiations broke down and 50 per cent US tariffs on some Canadian goods took effect.

A day earlier, Trump had posted a TikTok video in which he crossed out Lake Ontario on a paper map and wrote 'LAKE AMERICA' in its place. 'All it takes is a good pen and some intelligence,' he said in the clip. At the signing, he called Canada the worst country to trade with.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford dismissed the change. 'He can change it to whatever he wants. But it will always be Lake Ontario to all Canadians and the rest of the world!' he told ABC News.

Lake Ontario forms part of the border between the United States and Canada, and the province shares its name. Representative Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, said the lake would always be Lake Ontario and that 'Canada is not our enemy.'

In January 2025, Trump also restored Mount McKinley as the federal name for North America's tallest peak, reversing the federal government's 2015 adoption of Denali. The change applies to federal use, and the name Denali remains widely used in Alaska.

Earlier Hint: 'Now All We Need Is an Ocean'

Saturday was not the first time Trump had raised an ocean. When he signed the Lake Ontario order, he told reporters: 'We have a gulf and we have a lake. Now all we need is an ocean.' Asked which one, he replied: 'Maybe we'll change them both.'

Trump did not set out a formal plan in Tennessee, and the crowd greeted the idea with a roar, according to Unilad.

A president can direct federal agencies to use a particular geographic name in US government records and maps, subject to applicable law. Trump's orders on the Gulf of America and Lake America rely on that domestic authority, and neither requires other countries to adopt the same names.

International naming is more complicated. The International Hydrographic Organization promotes consistency in nautical charts and publications, while national authorities keep their own naming practices. No single country can impose a new name on the rest of the world, as Mexico's continued use of the Gulf of Mexico shows.

The Atlantic and the Pacific border dozens of countries across several continents. Any US-directed change would not automatically become an internationally accepted renaming.

Trump has made renaming a recurring feature of his second term. The Lake Ontario order came in the middle of his trade dispute with Canada, and he told reporters at the time that he had 'no message' in mind beyond his criticism of Canadian trade practices.

With an ocean, a river and a strait now floated, the president has indicated that he is not finished with the map.