Donald Trump's name-changing legacy bid - from oceans to US states

Donald Trump's name-changing legacy bid - from oceans to US states The US president has been building his legacy the only way he knows how - by plastering his name on buildings through the country and renaming international bodies of water A desperate Donald Trump has threatened to change the name of yet another large body of water as he scrambles to boost his popularity ahead of the US midterm elections The US President has been testing the extent of his powers during his second term, and this weekend confirmed he was considering renaming the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans. Either one, he said, could be renamed the "Oceans of the Americas", or even "Trump Ocean" as he continues in his attempts to plaster his will across the US and beyond. He said during a rally that "before I get out", he would also like to add it, and a river, to his growing list of retitled landmarks after "somebody" made the suggestion. The Gulf of Mexico Renaming the Gulf of Mexico was among the President's first priorities when he retook office in 2025, and he signed an executive order to this effect on January 20 that year. The order was such a priority that it came down the line on the second day of his inauguration, requiring the federal government to recognise the "Gulf of America". The changes sparked immediate backlash in the US and beyond, and saw Trump officials insist that everyone recognise the change, going as far as to disinvite the Associated Press from an event after it refused. Then press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the time: "If we feel there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable. "And it is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America, and I'm not sure why news outlets don't want to call it that but that is what it is." Ultimately, the change was only recognised within the US on federal documents, with the rest of the world still recognising the Gulf of Mexico. Lake Ontario Trump wouldn't try to rename another foreign body of water for more than a year after the Gulf of Mexico, making his second attempt this year. During a major trade spat with Canada, the president signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario, which is shared by the nations. An official White House release said the move was to "honour the American history of the Great Lakes", but Trump confirmed it was another bid to claim the water for himself. As he floated renaming an ocean for the first time, he said: “We have a gulf and we have a lake – now all we need is an ocean. Maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific." The change was, again, met with fury within and outside the US, especially over the border in Canada, where provincial officials promised they would never abide by Trump's order. The US side of Lake Ontario is in New York state, the governor of which, Kathy Hochul, has refused to recognise the name change. The John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts The JFK centre is the name given to the National Cultural Centre in 1964 to honour the US president of the same name who was assassinated the previous year. In 2025, the centre's board - which Trump had stacked with his own appointees - voted to slap his name on the centre as well. It was renamed the The John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and is colloquially known as the Trump-Kennedy Center. The name was plastered to the exterior, again prompting massive backlash as the original renaming was done by Act of Congress, while the newer one was not. It was ruled in December 2025 that the board's move was unlawful, and that only Congress could rename the building. Trump allies have been locked in a feud with judges since then, but in June this year his name was removed from the facade and all other materials - including the website - on which it was changed. The US Institute of Peace The US Intitute of Peace is the only building so far to have had Trump's name forced directly on it. It became the Donald J Trump United States Institute of Peace in December 2025. The building was among targets of Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and its board was largely replaced with Trump appointees. It was renamed on December 3, 2025, ahead of a planned peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. New Mexico New Mexico is a US state on the country's southern border which neighbours Mexico proper, and nearly became another Trump renaming target earlier this year. He suggested the state be renamed "New America", as his deeply unpopular war in Iran drove up oil prices. On Labor Day, a national holiday in the country, he spent a lot of time posting memes in support of changing the state's name. The timing was conspicuous, with the memes coming thick and fast as the US and Mexico were wrapped in tense trade negotiations. While he didn't follow through with the move, he claimed the name would be "so much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State".