A Reuters/Ipsos poll shows 63% of Americans oppose Trump's executive order renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America amid the U.S.-Canada trade war.
Page A3From§Eachthe noon edition — 1 September 2026
Trump asks Apple to rename Lake Ontario; poll finds Americans prefer the old name
Notebook open, I scribbled down two things: Trump asks Apple—yes, Apple, the tech company—to rename Lake Ontario, and a poll says most Americans don't want that. 'Lake America' is the proposed rebrand, read off the page. I checked, and nowhere does Apple manufacture lakes, though they do name a lot of things. The polling, meanwhile, comes in clear—majority says, keep Ontario. Now, I've seen a lot of naming contests, but this one has a presidential ask and a national landmark. I tried to match the word 'America' with the sentiment, but the numbers don't line up. I looked at my own water bill, wondering if a name change would mean a new charge, but it doesn't say. Before anyone leaves the room, excuse me—if public opinion runs against the president's branding, and Apple makes phones, not lakes, what exactly gets renamed, and who pays for the new signs?
“You got the ex-president lobbying Apple to change the name of a whole lake, and most folks just want it left alone. That's not public feedback, that's brand management.”
“Look, the president is simply exercising his prerogative to encourage innovation and patriotic branding. If the people don't agree, well, that's a learning opportunity for them. Actually, I think I meant for Apple, not the people—did I say that?”
The receipts
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said that President Trump has asked tech company Apple to change the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” after an executive order from the president that pushed the name change. “I know that the president reached out to Apple directly, so I’m sure that we may be seeing that change...
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.