Trump Claims Sundar Pichai Dissuaded Him from Renaming the Atlantic Ocean

After making changes to Lake Ontario and the Gulf of Mexico on Google Maps following executive orders, it seems Google CEO Sundar Pichai is hesitant to rename the Atlantic Ocean. During a recent rally, Trump mentioned that he had reached out to Pichai about the idea but was told, “Please don’t ask us to do that.” Trump recounted that Pichai firmly declined, stating, “Oceans are different, sir.”

While Apple has also implemented Trump’s name changes on its maps, other mapping services like MapQuest have opted not to follow suit. Trump even floated the idea of renaming the Pacific Ocean to the American Ocean, saying, “We have a lake and we have a gulf, now we need a river and we need an ocean.”

Here’s a snippet of Trump’s thoughts on the matter:

> So we have a lake and we have a gulf, now we need a river and we need an ocean. I was considering the Hudson River, then thought about the Mississippi and said, “I’ll never do that to Mississippi.” Can you imagine changing the name of the Mississippi? No, I don’t think that — but we’re looking for a river, though it won’t be as significant as the big ones. And then an ocean. The only oceans I would consider are the Atlantic and the Pacific. I’m not putting either Trump or America on any other ocean but these two. We seriously looked at the Atlantic Ocean, and I called Google Maps, who were really great with the lake. I spoke to Sundar, who heads all of Google, and he’s a brilliant guy.

> I said, “Sundar, I’m thinking of the Atlantic Ocean, can you handle it?” He replied, “No, no, no, this time I’m not doing it. Oceans are different, sir. They cover a lot of countries. Please don’t ask us to do that.” So I’ll probably pass. I think we should keep it the Atlantic Ocean, right? As for the Pacific Ocean… we’re going to call it the American Ocean. How do you think Europe would feel about that? Would they like it?