President Donald Trump has suggested renaming either the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean, raising the possibility of labels such as “Trump Ocean” as supporters cheered his latest proposal to reshape America’s geographical identity.
Speaking at a rally in Clarksville, Tennessee, on Saturday, Trump said one of the world’s two largest oceans could be given a new name: “Trump Ocean” or “Ocean of the Americas.”
He indicated that he wanted another prominent landmark renamed before his time in the White House ends.
Trump has already ordered the Gulf of Mexico to be referred to as the “Gulf of America” for US federal purposes and renamed Lake Ontario “Lake America,” signaling that his campaign to alter familiar place names may not be over.
At the Tennessee rally, however, the 80-year-old commander-in-chief suggested that his ambitions extend well beyond another lake or waterway.
“So we’ve got the Gulf. We’ve got a beautiful lake. Now somebody you need a river,” Trump told the cheering audience.
He quickly ruled out changing the name of the Hudson River, praising the explorer after whom it was named. “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,” Trump said.
Instead, the president revealed that he was considering a far more sweeping geographical change.
President Donald Trump suggested renaming the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean “Trump Ocean” or “Ocean of the Americas” during a MAGA rally in Clarksville, prompting cheers from supporters
Could the Pacific Ocean eventually become the “Trump Ocean”? The ocean is pictured near 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 told the crowd.
“We’ll call it Trump Ocean or Ocean of the Americas.”
The idea was met with an enthusiastic reaction from MAGA supporters as Trump considered placing his name on one of the planet’s largest and best-known bodies of water.
He also made clear that he would prefer to see the change take place before his presidency concludes.
“We should have — before I get out, I think we should have an ocean or we need a great river,” he continued.
Despite his willingness to revisit several landmark names, Trump said one major American river would not be affected.
“Now I’m not changing the name of the Mississippi,” he declared.
The comments add a new dimension to Trump’s growing effort to rename some of the United States’ most recognizable geographical features.
Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump has repeatedly shown that he is prepared to challenge long-established place names, reigniting debates about history, national identity and America’s ties with neighboring countries.
President Donald Trump is pictured in February 2025 beside a “Gulf of America” sign after changing 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.
The Daily Mail has contacted the White House for comment.