Trump directs federal government to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America

A map labeling Lake Ontario as "Lake America" is displayed as U.S. President Donald Trump takes a question from a reporter after signing an executive order during an event in the Oval Office. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America hide caption

President Trump is escalating his ongoing dispute with Canada over tariffs with a new executive order renaming Lake Ontario, which sits between New York and Canada, to Lake America.

The order, which Trump signed Thursday, directs the federal government to rename the smallest of the great lakes "effective immediately." However, the order also outlines administrative steps that must occur first. He made a similar move last year renaming the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America.

"We have a gulf, and we have a lake, now all we need is an ocean," Trump told reporters at the Oval Office signing.

He went to blame Canada for the renaming.

"We deal with a lot of people, and people oftentimes they'll ask me, 'Who's the worst to deal with on trade?' And I said, 'That's easy, Canada. They are the worst to trade, and they they feel entitled, and just we can't have that,'" Trump explained.

The change comes after trade talks broke down and Trump announced that he would impose a 50% tariff on some Canadian goods, escalating a trade war with the US' longtime ally. Canada issued counter-tariffs in response.

These tariffs are almost certain to raise the cost of goods for Americans, that are already high due to the war with Iran.

The move is causing some Republicans to push back against Trump, like Senator Susan Collins from Maine, who is in a tight reelection race.

Earlier this week, she called the tariffs on Canada a mistake

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