Tenney (R-NY24) Finally Speaks: Is Trump's Lake America Order Just "a Troll"?

A growing list of Republicans pushed back on the renaming. Tenney didn't say a word until TMZ asked.

President Trump ordered federal agencies on August 27 to use the name "Lake America" for Lake Ontario, a lake that forms a substantial part of the northern boundary of Rep. Claudia Tenney's NY-24 district. For days, she said nothing at all, even when reporters asked directly. (For the full background on the executive order and the initial local reaction, see our original coverage.) A growing list of Republicans, from a Wisconsin governor's nominee to the Republican mayor of Oswego, found something to say. Tenney didn't, until TMZ caught up with her, and she called it "a troll."

Republicans Are Speaking Up. Tenney Wasn't.

Robert Corradino, the Republican mayor of Oswego (a city inside Tenney's own NY-24 district), released a statement making clear his city isn't changing anything. "Lake Ontario has carried its name for hundreds of years," Corradino said. "It is a name rooted in history, geography, and the shared identity of the communities that surround it."

Republican New York State Sen. George Borrello, who generally supports Trump's trade agenda, called the renaming "a distraction from some very serious issues between the U.S. and Canada when it comes to trade."

Even Republican politicians hundreds of miles from Lake Ontario weighed in. Wisconsin Rep. Tom Tiffany, running for governor, joked that he'd draw the line at the Great Lakes: "I believe the Great Lakes are the Great Lakes and should stay Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Ontario — I mean, unless you're suggesting we name Lake Michigan, Lake Wisconsin." Vermont's Republican governor, Phil Scott, called the move "petty and disappointing" and argued the Trump administration should be "at the negotiating table" instead.

Comic Relief: Ontario Premier Doug Ford

Canada's loudest voice on this fight isn't polite about it. Doug Ford put up a billboard-sized sign on the Canadian shoreline reading "Lake Ontario. Now and Always," adding: "President Trump can call it whatever he wants, but the rest of the world will always call it Lake Ontario." It's the tamer half of a running feud. Days earlier, Trump had mocked Ford on Truth Social as the "less charismatic, intelligent" brother of his late brother Rob, the disgraced former Toronto mayor. Ford's reply: Trump could "kiss my ass."

Why Troll Over a Lake?

Tenney isn't the only one questioning the purpose of the renaming. Podcaster Joe Rogan, who endorsed Trump in 2024, put it more bluntly on his show this week. Asked why Trump would bother renaming the lake, Rogan didn't hesitate: "To distract you from the fact that we're in a war that we can't win in Iran." He added, "It doesn't make any sense. Like who cares, it's Lake Ontario, it's a good name, we've had that name forever." It wasn't the first time Rogan has floated the theory that the administration reaches for a distraction when the news gets uncomfortable. He made a similar argument about the Iran war itself, telling a guest, "Look, the Epstein files come out, we go to war with Iran... it's a good way to get people to stop talking about certain things."

That a former Trump supporter is now publicly making that argument is itself noteworthy.

Tenney Finally Speaks, Sort Of

Days after her office declined to respond to repeated requests for comment, Tenney did eventually say something, just not to a Western New York outlet, and not exactly a stand on the merits. Asked by TMZ whether businesses in her district should start switching over to "Lake America," Tenney said, "I'm pretty sure this is a troll." She added: "Trump, you know, likes to troll people and put out name changes. We'll see how long this lasts."

She still hasn't said whether she thinks renaming the lake her constituents live on was a good idea. "We'll see how long this lasts" isn't an objection. It's a shrug, and it's a lot less than what Corradino, Borrello, Tiffany, and Scott were willing to say on the record.

Trump Says It's a Success. The Polling Says Otherwise.

On September 2, Trump posted on Truth Social that Apple Maps had followed Google's lead in adopting "Lake America," calling the change "complete, ratified, and binding." A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted August 28–30 tells a different story: 63% of Americans oppose the renaming, just 14% support it, and even Trump's own party leans against it, 43% to 33%. A separate Economist/YouGov poll found 68% disapprove, only 17% approve.

The national polling shows that most Americans, and a plurality of Republicans, oppose the change. Tenney still hasn't said whether she does.

There's More to This Story

Everyone from Doug Ford to the Republican mayor of Oswego had something to say about renaming Lake Ontario. The Republican whose constituents are among the most directly affected finally said something too. It just took a TMZ reporter to get it out of her. The federal government's 30-day window to formalize the name in its own geographic database closes around September 26. WNYP will be watching to see if Tenney says anything more by then, or if "we'll see how long this lasts" is the last we hear from her on it.