Sundar Pichai rejects Trump’s ‘Trump Ocean’ idea

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has reportedly declined a request from US President Donald Trump to rename the Atlantic Ocean, despite the administration’s earlier efforts to change the names of major geographic landmarks.

Trump recently claimed that he contacted Google Maps about renaming the Atlantic Ocean. According to the US president, Pichai rejected the suggestion, responding: “No, no, no. This time I'm not doing it.”

Trump said Pichai explained why the company could not make such a change, telling him: “Oceans are different, sir. They cover a lot of countries. Please don't ask us to do that.”

The comments come after Google updated the name of Lake Ontario for users in the US following an executive order signed by Trump. The change has renewed attention around the extent to which US government decisions can influence how geographical names appear on widely used digital mapping services.

Trump floats ‘Trump Ocean’ name

Trump had earlier suggested renaming the Atlantic Ocean during a rally in Clarksville, Tennessee. Referring to the country’s recent geographical renaming efforts, he said: “We’ve got the gulf. We’ve got a beautiful lake,”

“Now, somebody said, you need a river. We need a river. We need an ocean.”

Trump also jokingly proposed naming the Atlantic after himself, saying: “We call it ‘Trump Ocean’ or ‘Ocean of the Americas,’ something like that,”

He added: “Before I get out, I think we should have an ocean. And we need a great river.”

Earlier name changes

The Trump administration had previously changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, a move that triggered diplomatic tensions with Mexico.

Google also changed how Lake Ontario is displayed on Maps for users in the US following the executive order. The company has said that Google Maps follows the US Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) for its US-facing maps.

As a result, users in the US see the updated name, while Canadian users continue to see Lake Ontario. In other parts of the world, Lake Ontario remains the primary name, with the US-preferred name appearing in parentheses.

Apple also adopted the change for its Maps service for users in the US.

However, Trump’s latest comments suggest that the same approach may not extend to oceans that cross multiple national boundaries, with Pichai reportedly drawing a line at the proposed Atlantic Ocean rename.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kahekashan

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Kahekashan is a passionate technophile with a keen eye for cutting-edge gadgets, emerging technologies, and everything in the digital realm. Raised in a Defence family with strong values and a background in literature, she has consistently pursued excellence in every endeavour. Her last full-time assignment involved content writing with the Indian School of Business.

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