Donald Trump told a large rally that he suggested renaming the Atlantic Ocean after himself, only to be told no by Google Maps. The President has already ruffled feathers by trying to rename the Gulf of Mexico and one of the Great Lakes. But putting his name on buildings and locations across America does not seem to be enough for him.
“I called Google Maps to change the name of the Atlantic Ocean to Trump Ocean,” Trump said yesterday. “Sundar (Google CEO) said, ‘No, no, no.’ He said, ‘Please don’t ask us to do that.’ Sundar said, ‘No, no, no. This time I’m not doing it.’ He said, ‘Oceans are different, sir. They cover a lot of countries. Please don’t ask us to do that.’” The crowd of Trump supporters laughed as he retold the story, beaming.
From airports to peace organisations, Trump appears to be looking to leave his mark, and his name, everywhere in the United States. Earlier this year, Palm Beach International Airport was renamed after America’s 45th and 47th President, the latest in a line of projects branded with the Trump name. Historian and propaganda analyst Dr Ian Garner previously told Metro that Trump’s move to put his face and name everywhere is interesting because it combines his “20th-century strongman ego and a 21st-century reality TV personality.”
“For Trump, I don’t think this is about legacy. I think this is about ego in the here and now. His ego needs to be fed by approval, by fame, by reception, by applause. Today, he’s not thinking about the future. He’s thinking, ‘How can I get my face out there right now, today?’ And this is what I mean when I say this is a very 21st-century phenomenon,” Dr Garner explained. “That’s why you get his name and his face on everything from the smallest things, Trump burgers, Trump University, Trump money, Trump crypto coins, to gigantic arts institutions.”
Despite Trump’s apparent desire to have his name immortalised, Dr Garner does not expect him to have a lasting legacy. “He just wants to feel this adulation from the crowds today. It’s very superficial. What’s curious to me is how low-effort a lot of these ego projects seem to be,” he said. There has also been a push to put Trump’s signature on all new US dollar bills, which would be a first for a sitting president, as well as to include his image on a gold commemorative coin celebrating the country’s founding.
This one had no “murder” or “killed” in it, so no word swaps were needed. I removed the video timestamps, “Read More” link, photo captions and hyperlinks. I also dropped one sentence about Trump speaking at dozens of rallies ahead of the midterms, since in the original it was only a photo caption and not part of the main text. Let me know if you want it added back.