Trump Says Google CEO Pichai Declined Idea to Rename Atlantic Ocean
President recounted a conversation with Sundar Pichai during a rally, stating the tech executive cited the ocean's global reach as a reason for refusal.
President Donald Trump claimed that Google CEO Sundar Pichai rejected a proposal to rename the Atlantic Ocean, citing the vast number of countries it borders. Trump recounted the interaction at a rally in South Carolina, stating that Pichai argued the global nature of the ocean made such a change unfeasible for Google Maps.
According to the president, he personally approached Pichai with the renaming idea. "I’m thinking of the Atlantic Ocean. Can you handle it?" Trump recalled asking the executive. Pichai’s reported response was a refusal, with the Google CEO explaining, "No, no, no. This time I’m not doing it... oceans are different, sir."
Pichai elaborated that oceans, unlike bodies of water entirely within one nation, touch numerous countries, making them distinct when considering renaming initiatives, Trump told the rally attendees.
Trump's comments followed his administration's prior executive orders that led to the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and Lake Ontario to Lake America for U.S. users on Google Maps. The company has maintained the original names for international users.
Earlier in October, Trump had publicly floated the idea of renaming either the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean as the "Trump Ocean" or "Ocean of the Americas" during a rally in Tennessee. He has also suggested renaming the Strait of Hormuz to the "Trump Strait" and changing the name of New Mexico to "New America."
While Google Maps has implemented some of Trump's renaming suggestions for U.S. users, other mapping services have not followed suit. MapQuest publicly stated on social media that it would not change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America.
Trump also referred to Google co-founder Sergey Brin, calling both Pichai and Brin "totally brilliant guys." He suggested they were still affected by previous renaming efforts, quipping, "And you know, they’re still rattled from the Gulf."
Ultimately, Trump indicated he would likely not pursue renaming the Atlantic Ocean, asking the crowd, "Should I pass it? I think let’s keep it the Atlantic Ocean, right?"
Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Trump's account of the conversation with Pichai.