Donald Trump Proposes Renaming Atlantic or Pacific Ocean

President Donald Trump proposed renaming either the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean during a rally in Clarksville, Tennessee, on Saturday. He suggested the names Trump Ocean or Ocean of the Americas, stating his goal to rename an ocean and a river before his presidency ends in 2028.

While Trump expressed a desire to rename a river, he explicitly stated he would not change the names of the Mississippi or Hudson rivers. He noted that Henry Hudson did a good job setting up the river a long time ago.

These proposals follow a pattern of geographic rebranding since Trump returned to office in January 2025. He previously ordered federal agencies to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and changed Lake Ontario to Lake America in August following the collapse of a trade deal between Canada and the United States. He also restored the name Mount McKinley to the Alaskan peak formerly known as Denali.

Although the U.S. government can dictate terminology for its own federal agencies, it cannot compel foreign governments to adopt these name changes.