U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to change the name of Lake Ontario to "Lake America" as tensions with Canada worsen.
Sitting near a map with the name "Lake America" over the body of water, Trump said "entitled" Canada has been difficult to deal with and repeated claims the country was ripping off the United States.
"They want to be treated like a state, but they are not a state," Trump said.
When asked why he was targeting American allies with these types of actions instead of American adversaries, Trump said, "they haven't treated us well."
"The Canadian officials have treated us very badly," Trump said. "They are nasty people."
Tensions between the two countries have escalated since trade negotiations fell apart on Friday. Both countries have accused each other of implementing 11th-hour changes.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has said the agreement became untenable. The federal government unveiled its retaliatory measures, set to go in place on Sept. 8.
Trump first threatened to rename the body of water during an escalating war of words with Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
The two exchanged insults, with Ford calling the president a bully, among other things, and Trump saying the premier was a "less charismatic, intelligent" version of his late brother, Rob.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum — who previously was governor of border state North Dakota — posted on social media "the places and waters that border our nation and support our economy should reflect the greatness of the United States."
He said he's proud to enact the name change.
'Real foolishness'
In Canada, the move prompted incredulity by officials on social media.
Carney said Canadians will call the body of water Lake Ontario "now and always," while Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said "we're into some real foolishness now."
"It's Lake Ontario, buddy," Houston said.
At an unrelated news conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew described the situation as an over-the-hill rock star playing old hits at a casino.
"I think that's the part of Donald Trump's presidency we're at now," Kinew said.
"He thought he had a real hit, a real golden oldie with the Gulf of Mexico, and he's trying to bring back that, and he's trying to play the hits for his base. But I think everybody here thinks it's a little sad and it's not his best work."
Lake Ontario — one of the five Great Lakes — is located between Ontario and New York. The province of Ontario, founded in 1867, took its name from the lake.
The lake's name comes from the Huron Indigenous people's word "oniatarí:io," which means "lake of shining waters."
Carney said on social media that the name is more than 400 years old, and predates both Canada and the U.S. as countries.
Gulf of Mexico saga
Last year, Trump signed an executive order to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
It only applies to U.S. federal documents and geographic services, but some online map services also made the change.
The geographic controversy led to the White House removing The Associated Press from certain duties covering the president after the news service did not use "Gulf of America" in its reporting.
The Associated Press took the White House to court in a dust-up that led to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt ripping many authorities away from the White House Correspondents' Association, the organization of journalists who cover the president.
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