US President Donald Trump proposed renaming one of the Atlantic or Pacific oceans the “Ocean of the Americas”, hinting at the possibility of naming one after himself, extending previous proposals to change the names of American geographical landmarks. Speaking at an election rally held in Clarksville, Tennessee, last Saturday, Trump said he was considering changing the name of one of the oceans.
We could call it the Trump Ocean or the Ocean of the Americas, or something like that
Trump continues proposing alternative geographical names
His comments came as part of an approach that has previously included proposing alternative names for a number of bodies of water and geographical landmarks. Last year, Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America”, a move that led to diplomatic tensions with Mexico. A dispute also arose with the Associated Press after it refused to adopt the new name in its news coverage.
Last August, Trump announced that Lake Ontario, located between New York State and Canada, would be renamed “Lake America”. The announcement came against the backdrop of trade disputes with Canadian officials. The Washington Post reported that the US president has executive powers allowing him to change the names of some geographical landmarks.
Legal complications facing changes to landmark names
Private companies providing online mapping services adopted the new names he approved, but changing the names of other landmarks could face political and legal complications linked to the nature of the landmark and the authorities with jurisdiction. By contrast, Trump ruled out changing the name of the Hudson River, which runs through New York State, and praised the explorer Henry Hudson, after whom the river is named.
He also confirmed that he would not change the name of the Mississippi River, referring to his ties to Tennessee, where he said he had achieved wide electoral victories. Last month, Trump floated the idea of changing the name of the state of New Mexico to “New America”, but acknowledged that implementing the proposal could require action at state and congressional level.
He said the decision belonged to the state's residents, stressing that he would not apply pressure to impose the name. These proposals form part of Trump's drive to reshape geographical names in line with his vision of American identity, while the feasibility of implementing them varies according to the legal powers and authorities concerned with each landmark, as well as the potential domestic or international disputes they could trigger.
