President Trump has personally pushed Apple to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America” on its maps, in the latest desperate twist in his petty feud with Canada.
The tech giant was receptive and could make the change soon, according to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
The push comes after Trump announced he was renaming the smallest of the five Great Lakes, part of an escalating trade feud with Canada that has led both countries to slap reciprocal tariffs on billions of dollars in goods.
“The president reached out to Apple directly, so I’m sure that we may be seeing that change coming up soon to Lake America,” Burgum said on Fox Business’ “Mornings with Maria” program on Monday.
Trump’s executive order on the name change only affects the U.S. Geographic Names Information System, which sets standards for official U.S. maps. It has no bearing on Canadian naming conventions or how the rest of the world refers to the lake. Google Maps has already changed the lake’s name to “Lake America” for U.S. users, according to a Google statement.
The lobbying effort is the latest chapter in Apple’s increasingly chummy relationship with the White House. Outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook, who hands the reins to successor John Ternus on Tuesday, showed up at the Oval Office last August bearing a golden gift to announce an additional $100 billion investment in American manufacturing.
The present was an ornament with a circular glass disc engraved with Trump’s name, Cook’s signature, and the phrase “MADE IN USA,” set into a 24-karat gold base.
“It is a unique unit of one,” Cook, whom Trump calls “Tim Apple,” told reporters while showing off the trinket, adding that it was designed by a former military officer who now works at Apple.
Trump had pressured Apple to manufacture its products domestically, despite tech experts warning the move could add hundreds of dollars to iPhone prices.
The president said Apple would begin producing semiconductor equipment in Texas, Utah, Arizona, and New York, and make magnets in Texas.
He described the “ultimate goal” as ensuring “iPhones sold in the United States of America are also made in America,” adding, “Isn’t that nice, we’re doing these things now in the United States, instead of other countries, far away countries.”
Cook has faced backlash for cultivating the relationship. He attended a private premiere of a Melania Trump documentary at the White House in January, just hours after ICU nurse Alex Pretti was fatally shot by a federal agent in Minnesota.
Pretti, 37, was the second Minneapolis resident killed by federal agents that month, following the shooting death of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, on Jan. 7.
Apple customers vented online over Cook’s attendance at the event, a $75 million vanity project funded by streaming rival Amazon, with some threatening to boycott Apple products or cancel their subscriptions.
Apple has made a $600 billion, four-year commitment to U.S. manufacturing and innovation.
The White House was contacted for comment and referred the Beast back to Burgum’s remarks.
