US President Donald Trump has admitted he called Google to ask them to rename the Atlantic Ocean after himself, but the company declined the request.
Trump's Phone Call with Google
Speaking at a rally in South Carolina, Trump confirmed details of his conversation with Google, revealing that he was forced to back down after Google Maps declined to make the change because they were 'still rattled from the Gulf'.
Trump told the audience: "I only like two oceans. The Atlantic ocean and the Pacific ocean. I'm not going to put either Trump or America on it… They looked at the Atlantic Ocean so I called Google Maps, who were really great with the lake.
"And I spoke to a brilliant guy Sundar who heads all of Google, he's a brilliant guy, Sergei and Sundar, totally brilliant guys. They're still rattled from the Gulf. And I said 'Sundar, I'm thinking of the Atlantic Ocean, can you handle it?
"No, no, no, this time I'm not doing it. He said oceans are different, sir. They cover a lot of countries, please don't ask us to do that. So I'll probably pass. Let's keep it the Atlantic Ocean."
Reaction and Previous Name Changes
Reaction on social media was unimpressed. @drumfonkurat said: "Americans: Does this not embarrass you? President of the United States making statements like this? Does he reflect who you really are as a people?"
@smDawudeen said: "Sometimes I wonder if this man is the real president of the US. After his tenure, there will never again be someone like him. Erratic, egomaniac, childish, bully, and clownishness."
The US president took legal action against the Associated Press after the wire service refused to call the Gulf of Mexico by his preferred name for it, the Gulf of America. In August, Trump also decreed that Lake Ontario, the body of water between New York and Canada, would be renamed Lake America.
Google and Apple's Response
After an executive order, Google posted a brief update on its Google Maps blog, noting that it follows the US Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) for its maps. This means that the company has to rename Lake Ontario in Google Maps.
Google's update on the name change also made it clear that the change will be only for Google Map users in the US. According to Google, only those in the US will only see the new name, whereas Canadians will continue to see the 'Lake Ontario' label. In the rest of the world, Lake Ontario will take precedence, but Lake America will also be visible in brackets. Apple followed suit, renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America on Maps for US users.
