Trump’s ‘Lake America’ move revives one of his biggest political flops | CNN Politics

It increasingly feels as though President Donald Trump is trying to do unpopular things ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. But he might have outdone himself with his latest move. Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to change the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America.” He did so after Canada declined to capitulate in the trade war he recently launched. While there’s not yet polling on this specific move, it’s difficult to believe it will be anything but a complete political dud. And while it’s unlikely to exercise Americans too much, it will likely feed into longstanding perceptions that Trump is more focused on trivial matters than the things they actually want, like lowering prices. The move recalls one of Trump’s splashiest (so to speak) moves on his first day back in office last year, when he signed an order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.” An Ipsos poll that week showed Americans opposed the renaming 70%-25%. About 8 in 10 independents opposed it, as did 45% of Republicans. More than four times as many Americans strongly opposed it (46%) as strongly supported it (10%). A slightly later Marquette Law School poll showed similar — A