MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes criticized President Trump's decision to rename Lake Ontario "Lake America" through an executive order, calling it "deeply pathetic". The renaming is part of a trade dispute between the US and Canada, with both countries imposing tariffs on each other's goods. In response to Trump's action, Hayes used a video of Trump trying to rename the lake on his TikTok account as an example of the president's erratic behavior, saying it was "pathetic in a way that almost kind of gave me the willies". The proposed renaming follows earlier moves by Trump to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America", which Hayes also criticized.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-28,
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Leaning score -0.85 for article 3139 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-08-28
MSNOW anchor Chris Hayes branded President Trump as “deeply pathetic” over the commander-in-chief’s bid to rename Lake Ontario.
asserted
Hayes → brand → Ontario
The president made headlines on Thursday when he signed an executive order to rename the huge body of water, which stretches into both the U.S. and Canada, as “Lake America.”
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which → make → America
The renaming is the latest escalation in a simmering dispute between Canada and the United States following the collapse of trade talks between the two nations.
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renaming → simmer → nations
Later on Thursday, Hayes tore into Trump over a video uploaded to the president’s TikTok account in which he addressed the planned renaming.
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he → tear → renaming
“There’s this old man sitting at his desk with a little Sharpie, reduced to a state of total delusion,” Hayes said on MSNOW’s All In.
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Hayes → ’ → MSNOW
“I mean, just deeply pathetic.”
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I → mean → ?
“I mean, pathetic in a way that almost kind of gave me the willies,” Hayes blasted.
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Hayes → mean → willies
In the video, Trump holds up a map of the lake and floats the idea of “making a little change.”
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Trump → hold → change
Then, Trump brandishes one of his signature sharpies and scribbles out the lake’s name, writing “Lake America” over the image.
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Trump → brandish → image
“’If you’re saying to yourself, ‘That’s crazy.
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That → say → yourself
He can’t just rename a Great Lake by scribbling on a map,’ you’re right,” Haynes said.
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Haynes → rename → map
“Today, he scribbled his signature on an executive order directing the Department of the Interior to update the lake’s name on U.S. maps.
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he → scribble → maps
This is what consumes the president of the United States.”
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what → consume → States
The proposed renaming follows the collapse of trade talks between the United States and Canada, which has seen the former country impose 50 percent tariffs on $20 billion worth of goods from the latter country.
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country → propose → country
Later, Canada revealed that it was imposing retaliatory tariffs on some imports from the U.S.
The collapse in talks came after Trump claimed earlier in August on Truth Social that a deal had been reached by both countries, pending the “finalization of documents.”
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deal → reveal → documents
While signing the executive order to have the name of Lake Ontario changed, Trump boasted about previously signing an order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.”
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Trump → sign → America
“Now, all we need is an ocean,” the president said.
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president → need → ?
“So, maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or Pacific.
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we → have → Atlantic
Maybe we’ll change them both.”
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we → change → them
Hayes also took a swipe at the president’s plan to rename the vast Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
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Hayes → take → oceans
Change them both,” he said.
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he → change → them
“Change them both to what? American Ocean One, American Ocean Two?”
Hayes added, “Knock yourself out.
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Hayes → change → yourself
You’re doing great.”
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You → do → ?
The anchor concluded by taking aim at the president’s previous move to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, suggesting that “nobody wants this.”
“That was a few weeks after returning to office when again, he was at his strongest, right?” Hayes claimed.
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Hayes → conclude → strongest
“‘I am the king, and now it’s Gulf of America.’
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it → ’ → America
You sad weirdo,” Hayes concluded.
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Hayes → conclude → ?
“Nobody wants this.
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Nobody → want → this
You know what they want?
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they → know → what
They want cheaper gas.”
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They → want → gas
