WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated Lake America video on August 29, showing himself replacing a Lake Ontario sign, as Canadian leaders continued to reject his US renaming order.
The Truth Social video shows Trump approaching a “Welcome to Lake Ontario” sign, knocking it down and replacing it with a “Welcome to Lake America” sign before dancing, according to The Daily Beast.
Trump signed an executive order on August 27 directing the US interior secretary and Board on Geographic Names to change federal references from Lake Ontario to Lake America. The order gives officials 30 days to update the Geographic Names Information System.
However, the US action does not determine what Canada calls the binational Great Lake. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has defended the existing name and highlighted its Indigenous origins, while Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled a bilingual sign declaring “Lake Ontario. Now and Always.”
Ford displayed the sign on the Canadian shoreline on August 29. The Associated Press reported that the move was a direct response to Trump’s executive order.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled a large Lake Ontario sign saying the lake's centuries-old name would not change after the US President Donald Trump renamed it ‘Lake America’ for US federal use https://t.co/CW8ejs3thx pic.twitter.com/Vq3Whgkmhc
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 29, 2026Read: Trump Mail Voting Appeal Challenges 14-Day Court Block
Carney has said the name Ontario derives from the Wendat word “Ontari’io” and has been used for more than 400 years, predating both Canadian Confederation and US independence.
Indigenous leaders have also opposed the change. The Associated Press reported that Wendat Nation Grand Chief Pierre Picard criticised the move as an attack on Indigenous heritage.
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The AI clip followed other Lake America-themed material shared through Trump’s Truth Social account, including maps using the new name. An archive records a “Lake America” map post at 11:16 a.m. EDT on August 29.
