▲ U.S. President Donald Trump
As U.S. President Donald Trump pushes to rename Lake Ontario on the U.S.-Canada border to "Lake America," backlash is erupting even within his own Republican Party.
According to U.S. media on the 28th local time, Republican Vermont Governor Phil Scott directly criticized President Trump through a post on the social media platform X, calling the renaming "childish and disappointing."
Governor Scott criticized, "We need to find ways to strengthen the U.S. and Canadian economies through negotiation. Further escalation of tensions does nothing to help American or Canadian families and businesses."
Vermont has deep economic ties with Canada in trade and tourism, making it a region expected to take a direct hit from a tariff war between the two countries.
While Vermont is traditionally a Democratic stronghold, the moderately conservative Governor Scott has publicly criticized President Trump and won a landslide victory in the 2024 gubernatorial election with 73% of the vote.
Tom Tiffany, a Republican candidate for Wisconsin governor who is endorsed by President Trump, also argued, "Lake Ontario should remain as it is."
Wisconsin, which is also closely connected to Canada through trade, is a battleground state.
This is seen as a wary response to the risk of suffering disadvantages in the November gubernatorial elections as President Trump engages in a pointless emotional feud by renaming the lake.
The Democratic Party is also pushing back against the lake's renaming.
Democratic Representative Debbie Dingell stated, "It is absurd. I am deeply outraged," and announced plans to introduce a bill to block the renaming.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who ran as the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016 and lost to President Trump, also posted a brief message on X stating, "It's Lake Ontario," criticizing the renaming attempt.
As President Trump's lake renaming further exacerbates the tariff war between the United States and Canada, forecasts suggest it will also be a tough battle for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
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