A rally call to Google's chief

Speaking at a campaign rally at Clemson University's T. Ed Garrison Arena in Pendleton, South Carolina, on 21 October 2026, Donald Trump said he had considered giving one of the two oceans bordering the United States his own name or the word "America". The rally was held to support Republican candidate Darline Graham ahead of the midterm elections. Trump said he had floated the same idea at an earlier rally in October, and this time he described a phone call. He said he had asked Google Maps whether such a change was possible, calling the company's team "really great" for its earlier renamings. He then said he had spoken with chief executive Sundar Pichai, whom he described as a brilliant man who runs the whole company. Trump wrapped up his account with a line that drew laughter from the crowd.

“I think let's keep it the Atlantic Ocean, right?”

Google's account is unconfirmed

Trump said Pichai turned him down, telling him that oceans are different and cover many countries, and asking him not to make such a request. Google has not confirmed that the call took place, and it did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The account of the exchange comes from Trump's own remarks at the rally. Google and other online map providers have generally accepted his earlier name changes for US users. Trump said he would probably pass on the Atlantic idea.

Earlier renamings and Google Maps

Trump signed an executive order on 20 January 2025, the day he returned to the White House, renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America in official US usage. Google Maps adopted the new name for users in the United States, kept the Gulf of Mexico label for Mexican users and showed both names elsewhere. Later in 2026 Trump issued another executive order renaming Lake Ontario, which is shared with Canada, as Lake America in federal records, and Canadian authorities have contested that change. At the rally he said the US had a lake and a gulf, so it now needed a river and an ocean. The timeline below traces the renaming attempts and the October remarks.

Other ideas from the rally

Trump said he could instead rename the Pacific Ocean the "American Ocean", and joked that Europe would be enthusiastic about the idea. He also claimed that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen would thank him. He further proposed calling the Strait of Hormuz the "Trump Strait", linking that idea to first freeing the waterway, which is not fully under control at present. The Pacific and Hormuz ideas were floated at the rally, and no source reviewed reports a formal change to either name.

Where things stand

On Trump's own account, the Atlantic plan is on hold because he said he would probably drop it. Trump also said the Atlantic would keep its name for now, leaving the Pacific as his next proposed target. The articles reviewed describe these proposals only as remarks made at the rally. None reports a formal filing or order covering the Atlantic, Pacific or Hormuz.