Democrats are criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed renaming of Lake Ontario, calling it “pathetic” and a “distraction” from failed trade talks. Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to change the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America.” The province itself was named after the lake, as “Ontario” is an Indigenous name that means “beautiful lake” or “sparkling water.” Trump has attempted to rename international bodies of water before, including an attempt to change the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.” Soon after signing the executive order Thursday, he suggested changing the names of both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Democrats are speaking out against their President’s proposed renaming of Lake Ontario. Here’s what they’re saying: New York politicians New York is the only U.S. state on Lake Ontario, and its politicians are against a name change. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on social media that the state would not be calling it Lake America. Her press office said the common acronym to remember the names of the individual Great Lakes, “HOMES,” would instead by “SHAME” with Trump’s name change order. U.S. Rep. Joe Morella accused Trump of trying to distract Americans from trade negotiations with Canada. “Pretending to rename a lake is an attempted distraction from the president’s disastrous trade talks with Canada,” he wrote on social media. “President Trump is playing games with a map,” he added. National Democrats Current and former leading members of the Democratic Party called out the “Lake America” order. New York’s Chuck Schumer, the U.S. Senate minority leader, called the order “sad and pathetic” on social media. “Voters will respond accordingly in November,” he warned. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an Independent who regularly votes with Democrats, called out Trump for cutting health care, child care, housing, education and nutrition assistance in a social media post criticizing the “Lake America” order. Adam Schiff, a U.S. senator from California, criticized the rising costs of living in the U.S., saying the “best Trump could do is ”Lake America.” on social media. Former U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton chimed in on Trump’s executive order, posting to social media on Thursday that “It’s Lake Ontario.” U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said “Republicans don’t give a damn about making your life more affordable.” New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker said he’d rather see every hospital that has closed due to Trump’s policies renamed to “Donald Trump Memorial Hospital,” rather than a “Lake America.” Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock called Trump’s rename “a joke” on social media. Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy told Americans on social media that “this is why your gas and grocery prices are so high. Because (Trump) spends all his time on this BS.” Delaware Sen. Chris Coons wrote: “Apparently, Trump thinks the most important issue facing Americans right now is renaming lakes. The official X account for U.S. House Democrats wrote “It’s too expensive to live and Donald Trump is renaming lakes,” Meanwhile, the Democrat Party’s official account wrote “Facts don’t care about Trump’s feelings.”
