Canadian rock musician Bryan Adams has faced criticism after releasing “Lake Ontario,” a new track taking a swipe at President Donald Trump.
The 66-year-old singer shared the song on Wednesday, responding to Trump’s August executive order seeking to rename the body of water Lake America.
Although Trump is never identified by name, the lyrics describe “one dude” who changes the lake’s name, launches a war in Iran and refers to the Epstein files.
In one section, Adams portrays the unnamed figure as frustrated by events in Iran and lashing out like a child throwing toys from a pram.
The song then suggests that renaming the lake was a theatrical distraction as public attention surrounding the Epstein files continued to grow.
Adams concludes the passage by imagining a future moment when the files are released and people will “dive into Lake Ontario.”
The track also accuses Trump of disturbing the lives of people who built communities along the lake’s “banks and shores.” Lake Ontario stretches between New York State and the Canadian province of Ontario.
A lyric video released Wednesday shows Adams beside the lake. The singer also teased that the song will feature on an album scheduled for release next month.
However, once excerpts from the lyrics began spreading across social media, some users criticized the songwriter for bringing politics into his music.
The 66-year-old musician, pictured last year, released the lake-inspired song on Wednesday after Trump’s August executive order proposed changing its name
The lyrics do not directly identify the president, pictured on Wednesday night, but describe “one dude” who renames the lake and starts a war in Iran
One critic wrote on X: “Adams has just lost fans. Just sing and stop talking politics.”
Another mocked the singer by referencing one of his best-known songs, writing: “This guy hasn’t been relevant since the Summer of ’69.”
A third user posted: “Dude has lived in Europe for three decades. He should stick to writing love songs. No one cares what this European has to say about Canada.”
Another commenter added: “Well, there goes another artist I’ll never listen to again. They should just play music and shut the f*** up.”
Trump’s focus on Lake Ontario emerged earlier this year during an escalating trade dispute with Canada.
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In a TikTok video posted on August 26, Trump said he wanted to give the lake a more distinctly American name.
“We’re gonna make a little change, we’re gonna call it something different than Lake Ontario,” he said.
“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.
Canadians have continued to call Lake Ontario by its original name and Trump’s renaming project has proven unpopular with many American liberals and conservatives.
Despite the criticism against Adams, many right-wingers themselves have accused Trump of trying to distract from his unpopular war in Iran.
The ongoing conflict will cost the Republican party seats in many traditional GOP strongholds in next week’s midterm elections, if polls are to be believed.
It was the latest in a line of name changes his administration has brought in since starting his second term.
One verse reads: ‘But things weren’t going his way in Iran. So like a baby tossing the toys from the pram. He may have thought it best to throw a low blow’
After the lyrics started circulating on social media, users went after the singer songwriter for getting political
Trump is seen here displaying his executive order which renamed Lake Ontario to Lake America
One of his first major moves came when he ordered federal agencies to adopt the name ‘Gulf of America’ instead of Gulf of Mexico. The sweeping change 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.