Apparently, renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” wasn’t enough.
President Donald Trump floated another dramatic geographical rebranding on Wednesday, September 2 — this time suggesting that one of the most strategically important waterways in the world could be renamed after himself.
“Now that we have it under U.S.A. control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT???” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Like America itself, it would be ‘hotter’ than ever before!”
The White House subsequently joined in, posting a map of the Persian Gulf featuring the proposed name and declaring, “It’s got a nice ring to it.”
The suggestion comes only days after Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. government to refer to Lake Ontario as “Lake America.” The August 27 order requires federal agencies to adopt the new designation, although Canada has rejected the change and continues to call the shared Great Lake by its historic name.
Trump also famously ordered the U.S. government to begin referring to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” after returning to office in January 2025.
But “Trump Strait” would take the president’s enthusiasm for renaming geographical landmarks a step further by attaching his own name to one.
The Strait of Hormuz separates Iran from the Arabian Peninsula and connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea. It is one of the world’s most important energy corridors, and the waterway has become a central flashpoint in the ongoing conflict with Iran.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the United States now controls the strait. The White House said last week that U.S. forces had cleared mines from international shipping lanes and escorted nearly 1,500 commercial vessels through the area.
The situation on the ground, however, remains highly contested. Iranian forces continue to threaten and attack shipping in the region, and renewed fighting this week has once again pushed oil prices higher.
Hours after his social-media post, Trump appeared to play down the possibility that an official name change was imminent. Asked in the Oval Office whether he was serious about renaming the waterway, Trump chuckled and said the idea “was just thrown out there.”
The latest proposal could also create another headache for Republicans heading into November’s midterm elections. Oklahoma Republican Rep. Stephanie Bice, a Trump ally, was recently caught on leaked audio worrying about “Trump fatigue” among Republican voters and specifically criticizing the Lake Ontario name change. “We’re not helping ourselves today when we decide to rename Lake Ontario ‘Lake America,’” Bice said, warning that dissatisfied Republican voters could either support Democrats or simply stay home. Her concerns come as Republicans defend narrow congressional majorities and Trump struggles with low approval ratings, while a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 63% of Americans opposed renaming Lake Ontario. Adding “Trump Strait” to the political conversation may be precisely the kind of headline some vulnerable Republicans would rather not have to explain to voters.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the idea is dead.
Trump’s proposal to rename Lake Ontario was initially regarded by many observers as provocation or trolling before he followed through with an executive order. Google and Apple have since begun displaying “Lake America” to U.S. users of their mapping services, while Canadian users continue to see Lake Ontario.
Canada has emphatically rejected that change, and neither Canada nor Mexico recognizes Trump’s new U.S. names for Lake Ontario or the Gulf of Mexico.
Whether “Trump Strait” ever makes it onto American maps remains to be seen. For now, at least, the Strait of Hormuz is still the Strait of Hormuz.
But considering how some of Trump’s previous naming proposals have gone from punchline to official U.S. policy, it may be wise not to dismiss this one just yet.
