Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) needed just a few words ― and a napkin ― to sum up his thoughts on President Donald Trump’s executive order proclaiming that Lake Ontario is now “Lake America.”
Shortly after Trump signed the order, Evers shared a short video of himself on X doodling on a napkin inside a McDonald’s restaurant.
“And I just renamed Lake Michigan Lake Wisconsin,” Evers joked alongside a link to an ABC News report on the “Lake America” announcement. “See, I can sign napkins that say things, too.”
Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell (D), meanwhile, suggested the president should have renamed the lake after his White House aide Natalie Harp, whose professional relationship with Trump has received heavy scrutiny in recent weeks.
“Let’s just call it Lake Natalie, so we know you’ll start protecting our Great Lakes,” Dingell quipped on X.
Trump’s “Lake America” order comes amid an intensifying feud with Canada, the U.S.’s neighbor and second-largest trading partner. After Trump announced plans to impose even more tariffs on Canadian goods starting in January, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney fired back with retaliatory tariffs that would take effect Sept. 8, just one day after Labor Day.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that changing the name of Lake Ontario is “something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, actually.” He said the change would take effect immediately, though the lake is also within Canada’s domain.
“Canada has been ripping us off for a long time on trade, very sadly,” he added. “The Canadian officials have treated us very badly. They’re nasty people.”
Whether the new name will be recognized beyond Trump’s MAGA base, however, is questionable. After being sworn into office in January 2025, Trump signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” though most U.S. news outlets have continued to use the original name for the international body of water.