TOI correspondent from Washington: Donald Trump has rescued a canal, invaded a country, conquered a gulf, annexed a lake — at least on American maps — and put his name on a performing-arts center. He now appears to have set his sights on the hottest waterway on the planet.The MAGA boss suggested on his social media account on Wednesday that the Strait of Hormuz could be renamed the “Trump Strait” — because if you cannot solve a problem, you can at least rename it.The proposal is the latest addition to what has become an extraordinary Trump-era renaming and branding binge. In January 2025, Trump ordered the Gulf of Mexico renamed the Gulf of America for US federal purposes. Last week he signed an executive order changing Lake Ontario to Lake America, saying the US had been treated badly by Canada. He then helpfully suggested that the Atlantic or Pacific could be next, saying, “We have a gulf and we have a lake…Now all we need is an ocean.”The President, someone jibed, appears to be collecting bodies of water like refrigerator magnets.The joke became even better when Google Maps and Apple Maps fell in line. Google changed Lake Ontario to Lake America for US users over the weekend. Apple followed on Tuesday. Canadians, however, continue to see Lake Ontario and users elsewhere may see both names. In other words, the lake has acquired the geographic equivalent of dual citizenship.The tech companies’ compliance prompted criticism from illuminati who argue that private corporations should not allow political pressure to dictate historical and geographic nomenclature. MapQuest, an internet relic many Americans had forgotten existed, refused to make the change and suddenly discovered the most effective marketing strategy in Silicon Valley: stand up to Trump. Its downloads reportedly surged, giving it the kind reception normally reserved for rock bands that haven’t toured for a long time or sports legends making a comeback.There is also an awkward business joke buried underneath all this. Trump built his political persona partly on branding himself as a master businessman, but his corporate record includes repeated failures and bankruptcies in hotels and casinos; His casino empire alone went through multiple Chapter 11 restructurings. Trump-branded ventures have also included products and licensing deals that did not last.Late-night television has naturally treated Trump’s naming obsession as premium material. The Atlantic, meanwhile, took the joke to its logical conclusion in a satirical vision of a future America in which everything is renamed “America” or “Trump,” leaving citizens unable to distinguish between brands of products, goods, and structures.Political analysts however see a serious calculation behind what many consider trolling. The renaming campaign sure is presidential theater — cheap to stage, impossible for the internet and tv to resist, and almost guaranteed to ignite social media. But it also serves to distract people from more pressing issues — such as cost of living and democracy going down the tubes.
