Uncovering the facts behind 13 rumors about Trump renaming things

From "Lake America" to "New America," we've investigated what Trump has (and hasn't) renamed. Published Oct. 20, 2026 U.S. President Donald Trump has had a fascination with renaming things throughout his second term. And his desire to leave his mark on the U.S. with names he has chosen has often led to controversy. For example, on his first day back in office in 2025, Trump issued an executive order changing the federal name of the United States' tallest mountain, Denali, to Mount McKinley. He also feuded with The Associated Press over its decision to continue using the name Gulf of Mexico, instead of Gulf of America, following that same executive order. Other examples have followed suit. Recently, Trump spoke at one of his rallies about the possibility of renaming one of the oceans to "Trump Ocean." Over the course of Trump's second term, Snopes has investigated a number of rumors related to Trump's penchant for rebranding things. Here are 13 such claims: Sources "Alaska Legislature Asks Trump to Retain Denali's Name Instead of Change It to Mount McKinley." AP News, 7 Feb. 2025, https://apnews.com/article/trump-denali-mount-mckinley-alaska-2fbff88e1845e066a65cbabfa17284ae. Accessed 25 Sept. 2026.Barrett, Amanda. "AP Style Guidance on Gulf of Mexico, Mount McKinley | the Associated Press." The Associated Press, 11 Feb. 2025, https://www.ap.org/the-definitive-source/announcements/ap-style-guidance-on-gulf-of-mexico-mount-mckinley/. Accessed 25 Sept. 2026.Bauder, David. "AP and Trump Administration Argue Access Case Before Federal Appeals Court." AP News, 24 Nov. 2025, https://apnews.com/article/ap-trump-media-access-pool-gulf-mexico-america-9a6667aae9743032c51c42c5e4f7dedc. Accessed 25 Sept. 2026.Chia, Osmond. "Trump Super Intelligence: Will the President's Attempt to Rebrand AI Work?" BBC, 23 Sept. 2026, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqy4z9pv4w0po. Accessed 25 Sept. 2026.Executive Order 14172—Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-14172-restoring-names-that-honor-american-greatness. Accessed 28 Sept. 2026.House, The White. 'Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness'. The White House, 21 Jan. 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/restoring-names-that-honor-american-greatness/.Trump, Donald. Truth Social, 6 Sept. 2026, https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117225349620809512. Accessed 25 Sept. 2026.Wasser, Zach. "Video: Trump Suggests Renaming an Ocean." The New York Times, 11 Oct. 2026, www.nytimes.com/video/world/americas/100000011208209/president-trump-suggests-renaming-an-ocean.html. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026. By Emery Winter Emery Winter is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and previously worked for TEGNA'S VERIFY national fact-checking team. They enjoy sports and video games. Article Tags