MAGA star turns on Trump over ‘dumb’ Lake America rename

Matt Walsh has delivered an unusually blunt verdict on one of Donald Trump's latest moves, calling the president's decision to rename Lake Ontario Lake America ‘kind of dumb’

Walsh, a prominent conservative commentator and Daily Wire host, criticized the decision on X on Thursday after the White House promoted the new name.

Trump had signed an executive order making the change official shortly beforehand.

The criticism is notable because Walsh is a staunch Trump supporter, but he argued the name change gets the history of the lake, and the word 'Ontario', wrong.

According to Walsh, the name Ontario has roots in Native American history and was being used for the lake long before the Canadian province received its name.

'Lake Ontario' began appearing on maps produced by European explorers in the 1660s, Walsh said, noting that this was before the Canadian province of Ontario was named.

"There are several cities in America called Ontario - at least one of them predating the Canadian province by like 100 years - because the word originates with native tribes in North America," he wrote.

"It's not a Canadian invention. Canadians never uniquely owned the lake or the name."

Walsh argued that changing the name therefore has the opposite effect from what Trump intends.

"So in effect all you're doing here is actually giving them credit for a thing that wasn't theirs to begin with."

His post went on to attract 3.3 million views.

The White House had announced the change in a post declaring: "EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY: Lake Ontario is renamed to LAKE AMERICA!" An accompanying map reflected the new name.

Walsh later added that while he understood the appeal of irritating Canadians, he believed the move undermined American history.

"Yeah it's funny when Canadians are upset I guess or whatever, but Lake Ontario, the name itself, is American history dating back many centuries."

"Not sure how you own Canada by deleting your own history."

What did Trump say about renaming Lake Ontario?

Trump defended the decision while signing the executive order in the Oval Office, saying: "Lake of America was something I’ve been thinking about for a long time."

The president also pointed to his previous effort to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, a change he announced last year.

"Now, all we need is an ocean," Trump joked. "So, maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific. Maybe we’ll change them both."

The Lake Ontario decision comes as relations between the US and Canada remain strained.

Trade talks between the two countries collapsed this week, shortly after Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods over the weekend. Canada responded with tariffs on some US products.

The naming decision has also drawn criticism from both sides of the political aisle.

Democratic Congressman Brendan Boyle wrote: "If you're wondering how much this will lower grocery or gas prices, the answer is $0."

Vermont Republican Governor Phil Scott similarly described the move as 'petty and disappointing.'

Walsh also called for the US and Canada to focus on economic cooperation rather than escalating tensions.

"We should be at the negotiating table, finding a path forward that strengthens both the US and Canadian economies," he wrote.

"Further escalating tensions does nothing to help American or Canadian families and businesses."

It isn't the first time Walsh has publicly broken with Trump. He previously criticized the president's decision to force Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino into early retirement and has also spoken out against the Iran war.