President Donald Trump has suggested renaming either the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean after himself, prompting an enthusiastic reaction from supporters as he outlined another sweeping plan to redraw America’s geographical identity.
Speaking at a rally in Clarksville, Tennessee, on Saturday, Trump proposed rechristening one of the world’s two largest oceans as “Trump Ocean” or the “Ocean of the Americas.”
He said he hoped to rename another major landmark before leaving the White House.
Trump has already renamed the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” for US federal purposes and changed Lake Ontario’s name to “Lake America.” His latest remarks suggested that his geographical makeover could extend far beyond those locations.
The 80-year-old commander-in-chief appeared to be considering a target on a much larger scale.
“So we’ve got the Gulf. We’ve got a beautiful lake. Now somebody, you need a river,” Trump told the cheering crowd.
“I don’t want to change the name of the Hudson River. That’s too much. Henry Hudson did a good job setting up that sucker a long time ago.”
The president then indicated that he had a far grander geographical landmark in mind.
President Donald Trump proposed renaming the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean “Trump Ocean” or “Ocean of the Americas” during a MAGA rally in Clarksville, drawing cheers from supporters
Could the Pacific Ocean soon be renamed the Trump Ocean? The ocean is pictured in San Diego on Friday
“So we need a river and we need an ocean, so I was thinking of either the Atlantic or the Pacific,” Trump said.
“We’ll call it Trump Ocean or Ocean of the Americas.”
The proposal was met with an enthusiastic response from MAGA supporters as Trump weighed the possibility of putting his name on one of the planet’s enormous oceans.
He also made clear that he wanted the change completed before his presidency ended.
“We should have — before I get out, I think we should have an ocean or we need a great river,” he continued.
However, Trump singled out one major American waterway that he said would not be renamed.
“Now I’m not changing the name of the Mississippi.”
The comments represent the latest development in Trump’s increasingly ambitious campaign to rename some of the United States’ best-known geographical landmarks.
Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump has repeatedly shown a willingness to replace long-established names, sparking controversy over history, national identity and America’s relationship with neighboring countries.
President Donald Trump is photographed in February 2025 beside a “Gulf of America” sign. He changed the name from the Gulf of Mexico on Inauguration Day
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In August, Trump changed the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America
Republicans were quick to celebrate the move to rename Lake Ontario
One of his first major moves came shortly after his second inauguration, when he ordered federal agencies to adopt the name ‘Gulf of America’ instead of Gulf of Mexico.
The sweeping change, which quickly became a symbol of his America First agenda.
‘We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America,’ Trump told reporters at the time.
‘Which has a beautiful ring. That covers a lot of territory. The Gulf of America, what a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate. It’s appropriate.’
The move attracted international attention, particularly because the enormous body of water borders not only the United States but also Mexico and Cuba.
Although Washington can determine the terminology used by its own federal agencies, it cannot compel foreign governments to recognize its preferred geographical names.
In August, he turned his attention to Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes shared by the United States and Canada.
In a video posted to TikTok on August 26, Trump announced his intention to give the lake a distinctly American identity.
‘We’re gonna make a little change, we’re gonna call it something different than Lake Ontario,’ he declared.
‘We’re gonna call it Lake America. And all it takes is a good pen and some intelligence.’
The president then demonstrated his proposal by taking a Sharpie to a map, crossing out the existing name and writing ‘LAKE AMERICA’ above it.
Trump also reversed a landmark decision made under former President Barack Obama by restoring the name Mount McKinley to North America’s tallest mountain
Trump also reversed a landmark decision made under former President Barack Obama by restoring the name Mount McKinley to North America’s tallest mountain.
The Alaskan peak had officially been known as Denali since 2015, when the Obama administration adopted the name long used by Alaska Native communities.
Denali has deep cultural and historical significance to Indigenous Alaskans, while Mount McKinley honors William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States.
Trump’s decision to restore the McKinley name reignited a decades-old dispute over which historical legacy the mountain should commemorate.
Our News Outlet has contacted the White House for comment.
