Reaction to new 'Lake America': 'deeply pathetic'

“Just deeply pathetic. I mean, pathetic in a way that kind of gave me the willies,” said MS NOW anchor Chris Hayes this week of President Donald Trump’s move to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America.

Trump’s executive order directing the Department of the Interior to change the name of the Great Lake on U.S. maps comes amid a trade war with Canada prompted by Trump. It also comes as his approval ratings remain low and as Americans struggle with inflation everywhere from the gas pump to the grocery store.

“Lake America, you sad weirdo? Nobody wants this,” said Hayes. “You know what they want? Cheaper gas.”

Since Trump announced in February that the U.S. had joined Israel to attack Iran, blockades at the important Strait of Hormuz transportation route have contributed to rising global gas prices. In the U.S., national average gas prices have been hovering at more than $4 per gallon for much of the year so far, and prices are expected to hit a historic Labor Day high next month.

Along with high gas prices, other goods have become more expensive this summer, based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, putting increased pressure on Americans’ wallets. In fact, polling shows that affordability is a top issue going into the November midterm elections, and that voters are not impressed with how Trump and the GOP (which currently holds majorities in both chambers of Congress) have handled the economy.

Previously, Trump also issued an executive order changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. As of Friday, Google Maps displayed the “Gulf of America” name but still showed the lake bordered by both the U.S. and Canada as Lake Ontario and Business Insider reported that online map service MapQuest would not be using the “Lake America” name.

Trump has said he sees the Strait of Hormuz as U.S. territory and he’s suggested that the U.S. take over the country of Greenland. Polling from earlier this year showed that many Canadians were concerned that he would try to take over Canada.

When he made the “Lake America” announcement this week, Trump took out a map and crossed out the name with a marker, replacing “Lake Ontario” with “Lake America” and he even said he considered changing the names of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. A reporter asked why Trump was engaging in a trade war with a U.S. ally, Trump said: “the Canadian officials have treated us very badly, they’re nasty people.”

However, Hayes noted that this trade war with our northern neighbor will “absolutely jack up prices for Americans,” for everyday goods such as toilet paper.

“The president has always believed he can control reality, unilaterally, through sheer force of will,” said Hayes. Now, he thinks that reality might be catching up to Trump, and that “Americans are tired of the delusional 80-year-old president and his whims.”

Hays wasn’t the only person to criticize the president’s “Lake America” announcement. Writing for CNN Friday, Aaron Blake noted that “while there’s not yet polling on this specific move, it’s difficult to believe it will be anything but a complete political dud.”