Apple could be forced to change Pacific Ocean to 'Ocean of the Americas' as Trump calls for change
Seemingly determined to rename the entire world in honor of himself or the United States, President Donald Trump is continuing his mission against maps by trying to rename iconic locations.
Not content with rebranding Palm Beach International Airport as the Donald J. Trump International Airport, we've seen the Commander-in-Chief push through rebrands for the Gulf of Mexico (as the Gulf of America), Lake Ontario (as Lake America), and put the Strait of Hormuz in his sights as he's genuinely floated the idea of calling it the Trump Strait. He says that after renaming a lake and a gulf, he also needs to rename a river to complete his scorecard. Before that, he's got a whole ocean in his crosshairs, stating that the Oceans of America could be the new name for the Pacific Ocean.
Why is Donald Trump trying to rename the Pacific Ocean
Speaking at a Tennessee rally where the president was joined by Kid Rock, Donald Trump reiterated: "So, we need a river; we need an ocean. So, I was thinking of either the Atlantic or the Pacific. We call it Trump Ocean or Ocean of the Americas, something like that."
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While we imagine 'Trump Ocean' would go down like a lead balloon, the idea of renaming the Pacific Ocean as the Ocean of the Americas is still sure to cause a stir.
The POTUS continued: "No, before I get out, I think we should have an ocean, and we need a great river. Now, I’m not changing the name of the Mississippi. I love Mississippi. We won that state by so much.”
In August 2026, Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario, coming in the aftermath of his earlier Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness order.
While Trump maintains the renaming is because America has invested far more in the Great Lakes than Canada, some called it out as a petty response to a breakdown of trade negotiations between the two countries.
Despite the president pushing through the rebrand, Ottawa doesn't have to accept the new name of Lake Ontario. That's not the case with various tech giants, as some mapping companies have fallen in line.
MapQuest defied the rest and soared to the top of the Apple App Store after it refused to comply with the name change.
How the Oceans of America could affect Apple Maps
With the White House confirming Trump directly contacted Apple to change the name of Lake Ontario, a potential rebrand for the Pacific Ocean would likely lead to the same outcome. Both Google Maps and Apple Maps display 'Lake America' to users in the USA, although other countries still see it as Lake Ontario.
As we've seen with backlash against Trump's vow to rename New Mexico as New America, his Pacific Ocean plan is sure to cause a stir.
There could be some legal issues, as let's remember Mexico argued that the USA has no authority to rename the Gulf of Mexico. The country even went as far as suing Google for displaying 'Gulf of America' to U.S. users.
Countries like Canada and Japan that border the Pacific Ocean are sure to reject a unilateral change and would continue seeing 'Pacific Ocean on Apple Maps, although other territories might see Pacific Ocean with 'Ocean of the Americas' in parentheses.
Apple is sure to feel the wrath of its customers if it goes through with the change, or the wrath of the president if it doesn't bend to his will.
While it might seem ridiculous to rename the Pacific Ocean, Trump concluded: "Everyone thinks I kid. Everybody smiled, ‘Oh, that’s so funny.’ I did it, right? It’s done.”