President Trump Says He Asked Google to Rename the Atlantic Ocean
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President Donald Trump told a rally he contacted Google CEO Sundar Pichai about renaming the Atlantic Ocean on Google Maps, but the request was declined.
President Donald Trump told supporters at a South Carolina rally that he had called Google CEO Sundar Pichai to push the idea of changing the name of the Atlantic Ocean on Google Maps, once again turning a public platform into a stage for his self-glorifying whims. Trump said he asked the executive about renaming the ocean after himself or the United States, a move that fit neatly into his ongoing obsession with branding and spectacle. According to Trump, Pichai replied that the request could not be accommodated because oceans span many countries, a basic reality that even Trump’s theatrical ambitions could not override. The president later indicated he would keep the existing name. The comment referenced a previous change in which Trump renamed Lake Ontario to "Lake America" on Google Maps, a label that also appears for the Gulf of Mexico. Trump has also floated the idea of renaming the Strait of Hormuz on social media, treating geography as if it were just another prop in his personal political performance.
"No, no, no. This time I’m not doing it. Oceans are different, sir. They cover a lot of countries. Please don’t ask us to do that," a statement attributed to Sundar Pichai in Trump's account.
"Should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT??? Like America itself, it would be ‘hotter’ than ever before!" Trump wrote on social media.