President Donald Trump's decision to officially rename Lake Ontario as "Lake America" has drawn a wave of sarcastic responses from Wisconsin politicians, who are turning the tables on the commander-in-chief with jokes about renaming Lake Michigan.
On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order that formally changes the name of the Great Lake, a move he framed as a response to ongoing trade disputes with Canada. "We're going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario effective immediately to Lake America," Trump told reporters, according to the original report.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, quickly fired back on social media platform X, posting a video of himself writing on a napkin and declaring, "just renamed Lake Michigan Lake Wisconsin." He added, "See, I can sign napkins that say things, too," a pointed jab at the president's informal style of announcing policy.
The joke crossed party lines. Republican Representative Tony Wied of Wisconsin also weighed in on X, writing, "while we're at it – Lake Wisconsin sounds good too." The bipartisan mockery underscores the political sensitivity of the president's unilateral renaming, which critics see as a symbolic gesture amid real economic friction.
The executive order comes after Trump first floated the idea earlier this week, as trade tensions between the U.S. and Canada escalated into a full-blown tariff war. Over the weekend, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney pulled negotiators from trade talks with American officials, a move that further inflamed the situation.
The spat is the latest chapter in a rocky relationship between the two neighbors, who share the Great Lakes as a natural border. Trump has repeatedly mused about making Canada the 51st state, a suggestion that has been flatly rejected by Canadian leaders and citizens alike.
While the renaming of a lake may seem trivial, it carries symbolic weight in the context of the broader trade conflict. For Wisconsin politicians, the move provided an opportunity to highlight what they see as the administration's priorities, while also engaging in a bit of regional pride.
The episode also feeds into a larger narrative of Trump's approval ratings slipping, which has some Republicans worried about the midterm elections. As Trump's approval slump deepens GOP fears for midterms, the lake renaming might be seen as a distraction from more pressing issues like the economy and healthcare.
In the meantime, the administration's focus on symbolic gestures over substantive negotiations could have lasting implications for U.S.-Canada relations, which are already strained by disputes over tariffs and the renaming of Lake Ontario amid trade war tensions.
