Trump's Trials - Americans living near Lake Ontario balk at Trump's efforts to change name

Episode Date: August 31, 2026

Amid a bitter trade dispute with Canada, U.S. residents along Lake Ontario are reacting to President Trump's efforts to rename it Lake America, and Canadian politicians are clapping back. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

You're listening to Trump's terms. I'm Scott Detrow. The president has both an ability and a willingness to use the power of his office, to think outside the box. Nobody makes a better deal than President Trump. We're going to do better and better and better. Nobody can believe what they're watching. Every episode, we bring you one story from NPR's recent coverage of the 47th president. With a focus on ways his administration is pushing the boundaries of presidential power. Here's the latest from NPR.

From NPR News, I'm A Martinez. Ontario Premier Doug Ford is pushing back against a White House order to call Lake Ontario Lake America. President Trump can call it whatever he wants, but I can tell you that the rest of the world will always call it Lake Ontario. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation carried his response. People on the U.S. side of the border also reacted. Here's North Country Public Radio's Richard Haller. It's a beautiful. beautiful summer day as I walk along New York State's northern shore of Lake Ontario. Now it's Lake America, even on Google Maps in the U.S.

Veem Dahal sits on a rock at the edge of the lake, soaking up the sun while he watches his kid play in the waves. He heard about Trump's executive order. That's funny. You can change the name of everything. To be like this forever. De Haal is a nurse from Syracuse and says he works with a lot of Canadians. And we were all laughing last night. People will not call Lake America anyway.

We'll still call Lake Ontario. Most of the people I spoke with said they will continue to call it Lake Ontario. Tyler Delina, a Republican, just up the coast at a marina in Henderson Harbor, says he doesn't think changing the name is necessary. But he doesn't care if it offends people. Things change all the time. Road names get new names. Towns get new names.

At the end of the day, it is what it is. If you don't like it, change it. Go out and vote. If you do like it, vote again. For the past year and a half, President Trump has targeted Canada in a trade war, now with new 50% levies. There were tense trade negotiations to try and avoid them, but Canada left the table. Trump then lash back with the name change. Working outside on the docks, Cara Rousseau says she gets why Trump put new tariffs in place.

But as someone who's grown up working on this harbor for 40 years, changing the name is not okay with her. It will always and forever be Lake Ontario. and I think he does it for himself and the attention because he's narcissistic and arrogant and he doesn't think of what us as Americans actually feel. Kathleen Kohansky spends every summer working behind the register at a general store on the marina. She says that changing the name deeply offends her. Lake Ontario, it belongs to everybody. From fish to people to birds to wildlife.

I answer the phone, Hentions Marina, Lake Ontario, because that's where you. what we are. Kohansky says that she'll forever share the name with her Canadian neighbors across the lake. For NPR News, I'm Richard Haller in Henderson, New York. A note before we go, if you value this show and want to help keep it going, a free and totally easy way to support us is to rate and review Trump's terms on the platform where you listen in a world of algorithms that goes a long way toward helping us reach new listeners.

If you have left a review in the past, thank you so much. I'm Scott Detrow. Thanks for listening to Trump's terms from NPR.