▲ U.S. President Donald Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that he is considering changing the name of Lake Ontario, located between the United States and Canada, to "Lake America."
Writing on his social media platform Truth Social on the 25th local time, President Trump stated, "It looks like we won't be doing much more business with Ontario, so we are seriously considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America."
Lake Ontario is a large lake situated between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York.
As one of the five Great Lakes in North America, it serves as a border between the two countries.
This is interpreted as a provocative move taking into account that Ontario has been at the forefront of domestic resistance in Canada against U.S. tariffs.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has been launching consecutive criticisms against President Trump, remarking that Ronald Reagan, a symbolic figure of the American conservative movement, would be rolling in his grave.
Upon taking office early last year, President Trump signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and after the Associated Press insisted on using the designation Gulf of Mexico, he barred its reporters from attending White House events.
In a separate post on Truth Social, President Trump claimed, "I would never interfere with Canadians speaking French," adding, "I have never even thought of doing such a foolish thing."
"This lie was made up by a weak and incompetent prime minister trying to regain the political support completely lost from the residents of Quebec," President Trump added, stating, "I love French Canadians."
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney claimed at a press briefing the previous day that the U.S. trade negotiating team showed an attitude of viewing Canada's French-language protection policies as a nuisance.
English and French are used with equal status in Canada, and protection regulations are in place, such as requiring product descriptions to be marked in French, particularly in the French-speaking province of Quebec.
The trade war between the United States and Canada, long-standing allies sharing a border, is worsening by the day.
After the U.S. imposed a 50% tariff on certain Canadian products, Canada announced plans for retaliatory tariffs, to which President Trump responded by warning of a 50% tariff on automobiles, auto parts, and steel.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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