Al Michaels Makes Jokes About Donald Trump’s ‘Lake America’

Sports broadcaster Al Michaels took a jab at President Donald Trump’s mistaken proposal to rename Lake Ontario during a recent NFL match.

“That’s Lake Erie. We believe it’s still referred to as Lake Erie on the right,” Michaels, who is 81, commented while an aerial view of Ohio’s Huntington Bank Field was displayed during the Prime Video broadcast of the New England Patriots versus Cleveland Browns preseason game on Thursday, August 27.

“At this point, we’re not entirely sure,” the iconic sportscaster went on. “However, we’ll be near Lake something like Ontario or whatever it will be named by the time we reach Buffalo [for Week 2].”

Michaels concluded with, “In any case, you get what I’m saying; some of you do. Catch up on the news.”

Just a few days prior, Trump, 80, asserted that he holds the authority to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America.”

“The United States is seriously contemplating renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America since we don’t anticipate conducting much business with Ontario moving forward,” he posted on TruthSocial on Tuesday, August 25. “Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

On Thursday, Trump confirmed he intended to sign an executive order asserting what he claims is the authority to rename the smallest of the five Great Lakes amid a growing trade dispute with Canada.

According to a statement from Google obtained by Reuters, Google Maps has subsequently updated the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” for users in the U.S. to reflect Trump’s executive order.

“We update Google Maps to mirror name changes in official government records, which is GNIS for the U.S., so users in Maps in the U.S. will see ‘Lake America,’” Google mentioned in a blog post on Saturday, August 29. “Users in Canada will still see ‘Lake Ontario,’ and those in other regions will see both names.”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has since dismissed the purported name change.

“The name of Lake Ontario is derived from the Wendat word ‘Ontari’io’, which translates to ‘the lake is beautiful, the lake is great.’ This name has been in use for over 400 years, long before both the Canadian Confederation and the Declaration of Independence of the United States,” Carney, 61, wrote via X on Thursday. “We recognize that the United States is evolving. Their trade relationships, foreign policy, national monuments, and hydronyms are all changing. Canadians also understand the importance of names, and this lake is called Lake Ontario — now and always.”

New York Governor Kathy Hochul stated that “New York won’t refer to it as” Lake America, while Vermont Governor Phil Scott described Trump’s decision as “petty and disappointing” via social media.

“We should be negotiating to find a solution that benefits both U.S. and Canadian economies,” Scott, 68, wrote via X on Thursday. “Further escalating tensions does nothing to support American or Canadian families and businesses.”