Trump: "Let's Rename the Atlantic Ocean" ... Google CEO: "Please Don't Ask Me That"

Personally contacted Google CEO to make the request
Google CEO balked and refused

U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly contacted the CEO of Google in an effort to rename the Atlantic Ocean.

On Oct. 22 (local time), the U.S. media outlet The Washington Post (WP) reported an anecdote about President Trump trying to rename the Atlantic Ocean during a midterm election campaign rally in South Carolina that night.

U.S. President Donald Trump. AFP-Yonhap News.

Trump reportedly contacted Google CEO Sundar Pichai directly, saying, "We have lakes and bays, and now we need rivers and oceans." He reportedly asked Google to change the name of the Atlantic Ocean on Google Maps.

Trump previously sparked controversy by signing executive orders renaming the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario, which lies along the U.S.-Canada border, as the "Gulf of America" and "Lake America," respectively. The moves also led to diplomatic friction with neighboring countries Mexico and Canada.

Pichai was reportedly put in an awkward position. According to the outlet, Pichai replied, "The situation is different with oceans, as many countries border them. I'm not going to do that this time. Please don't ask me to do that."

Online map service providers, including Google, have generally reflected Trump's renamed geographical features for users in the United States. However, they were reluctant to change the name of the Atlantic Ocean, which borders European countries.

Trump is reportedly unlikely to press ahead with renaming the Atlantic Ocean after Google turned him down. However, he is said to be considering changing the name of the Pacific Ocean to the "American Ocean."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.