January 1, Pennsylvania Republican Pushes BOLD Renaming Plan Trump Needs to See

Wyatt’s Take

• Pennsylvania lawmaker wants Trump to rename Lake Erie to ‘Lake Pennsylvania’ — making the case that Pennsylvania deserves recognition for its only Great Lake
• This comes after Trump’s successful rebranding of Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’ and the Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’ — proving he’s willing to restore American pride to our maps
• The proposal highlights how states are rallying behind Trump’s America First vision, even when it comes to the names on our own geography

Pennsylvania state Rep. David Maloney, a Republican, is calling on President Donald Trump to rename Lake Erie to “Lake Pennsylvania” — and his reasoning might just convince the White House.

Maloney is preparing a resolution asking Trump, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and lawmakers in Congress to take action on the renaming. He argues the change would better reflect the lake’s modern identity and Pennsylvania’s deep connection to it.

“This is Pennsylvania’s only Great Lake. Its modern economy and identity are increasingly tied to the boaters, anglers, families and tourists who come to enjoy it,” Maloney said in a statement. “Ohio has plenty of shoreline. New York already has two Great Lakes. Canada has four others.”

“Pennsylvania has one. Let’s call it Lake Pennsylvania!” he added.

Lake Erie is the smallest of the Great Lakes by volume and the shallowest. The lake has about 12 million people in its watershed — 10.5 million in the U.S. and 1.9 million in Canada.

Maloney’s proposal follows Trump’s executive order last month renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America” — a rebranding that Canada has refused to recognize but that’s already appeared on major digital maps for American users.

“We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms. Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario — then, now and always,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement.

The renaming only applies to the U.S. federal government. Canada, other international bodies, and U.S. states aren’t forced to acknowledge the change. But both Apple Maps and Google Maps changed the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” for U.S. users following Trump’s executive order.

Trump has also suggested renaming New Mexico to “New America.” That prompted several of the state’s lawmakers to call on Apple and Google to publicly commit to keeping the state’s current name on their maps.

Trump has also floated the idea of renaming the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

On his first day back in office in January 2025, Trump signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.” Like the Lake Ontario rebranding, the order only applies to the U.S. federal government and doesn’t bind Mexico, other international bodies, or private entities.

Apple Maps and Google Maps also adopted this change for users in the U.S., implementing the update using a region-based approach tailored to the location of the user’s device.

Wyatt Matters

This is about more than just maps — it’s about restoring pride in American landmarks and giving credit where it’s due. Pennsylvania families who fish, boat, and work on Lake Erie deserve to see their state’s name front and center. While the coastal elites mock Trump’s renaming efforts, everyday Americans understand the symbolism: our country, our rules, our names.