Google has already rebranded the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario for American users. Yet when Trump proposed renaming the Atlantic Ocean, the company's leadership declined, according to remarks the president made at a Wednesday rally in South Carolina.

Trump attributed the following response to Google chief executive Sundar Pichai: "No, no, no. This time I'm not doing it… Oceans are different, sir." The president said Pichai explained that oceans "cover really a lot of countries" and added, "Please don't ask us to do that." Trump indicated he would "probably pass" on the idea after hearing this reasoning. The Washington Post noted that Google has not publicly confirmed such a conversation took place.

Building the case for renaming

Trump outlined his vision by referencing the changes Google had already made. "So we have a lake and we have a gulf. Now we need a river and we need an ocean," he told supporters. He indicated his preference would be to apply either "Trump" or "America" to the Atlantic or Pacific. Trump praised Pichai and Google co-founder Sergey Brin as "totally brilliant guys" while noting they remained "still rattled from the Gulf." He subsequently shifted focus to the Pacific, proposing to call it "the American Ocean."

Earlier versions of the story

Trump had shared a similar account five days prior at a Georgia rally in Dalton. According to CNN, he mentioned sending Google "a little picture" labeled "The Trump Ocean." At that event, he recalled: "They said, 'Sir, look, OK. This one we can't do. Oceans are different.' … I said I was only kidding. That time I was." One day later, during a Kentucky rally, Trump discussed his outreach to Google Maps regarding the Gulf.

Rebranding completed so far

Google changed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America for US-based users in the previous year. Starting in August, the company began displaying Lake America instead of Lake Ontario, following Trump's signing of an executive order by two days. Apple Maps adopted the same Lake America designation in September.

Source: The Next Web