Trump’s absurd ‘Lake America’ rebrand

Plus, U.S. to receive majority stake in massive Venezuelan oil venture |

VIEW IN BROWSER Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026 Today, we’re looking at Trump’s order to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America,” the Iran war’s impact on the economy, the GOP’s young-Nazi problem and more. Plus, Jacob Soboroff criticizes Trump’s plan to skip the 9/11 memorial in New York. Ben King / MS NOW; Getty Images What Trump’s ‘Lake America’ rebrand says about his presidency By Hayes Brown Saying “no” to the president of the United States is never easy, and it must be even harder for the spineless sycophants in Donald Trump’s administration, but someone should have found a diplomatic way to tell Trump that his petulant executive order changing the name of “Lake Ontario” to “Lake America” is a terrible idea. Trump announced his executive order after trade talks between the U.S. and Canada collapsed. It’s unlikely that needling Ottawa and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney this way would ever go over well. But such juvenile antics seem certain to upset Americans when we're already stuck in an unnecessary war in the Middle East that’s continuing to cause prices to rise. At Thursday’s signing, recently appointed Staff Secretary Ben Moss told reporters the order was “straightforward but important.” The order in question, which reads as if an AI chatbot was asked to describe the U.S.’s history with Lake Ontario, bears all the hallmarks of a Trump rush job. And after the terrible idea became ridiculous policy, the federal government kicked into high gear.   This is a preview of Hayes Brown’s latest column. Read the full column here. Respond directly to Hayes Brown’s column by submitting a letter to the editor through this form. Read our submission guidelines here.  Respond directly to Hayes Brown’s column by submitting a letter to the editor through this form. Read our submission guidelines here.  Must Reads   Hannah Beier / The Washington Post via Getty Images The Iran war is showing the costs of Trump’s strongman economics The president’s attempts to directly control the U.S. economy aren’t having the effects he intended, argue Charlie Herman and Ryan Teague Beckwith. Trump announces deal giving U.S. majority stake in massive Venezuelan oil venture The sweeping deal would dramatically expand U.S. access to one of the world’s largest petroleum supplies. Read more from Ebony Davis and Emily Hung.  ICE detains Milo Yiannopoulos, far-right provocateur The former Trump supporter turned critic, who is also a British native, was arrested Thursday in Louisiana, the Department of Homeland Security said. Read more from Hayley Meissner and Julianne McShane.   Anna Lefkowitz / MS NOW; Getty Images Trump normalized gutter racism. Now the GOP has a young-Nazi problem. A 24-year-old former staffer to Georgia Senate candidate Mike Collins posted a bunch of unambiguously racist content. This keeps happening to Republicans, argues Anthony L. Fisher. Top Videos   DEADLINE: WHITE HOUSE ‘Outdone himself’: Soboroff on Trump skipping N.Y. 9/11 memorial because he wouldn’t be allowed to give a speech Watch now     MS NOW AOC on midterm elections: ‘The tide is coming’ Watch now   THE WEEKNIGHT Everything MLK Jr. fought for ‘is under attack’: Rev. Sharpton reflects on fight for voting rights Watch now ON THE LINE Cost of Iran war becomes growing burden for Americans Watch now   More from MS NOW   This week on “Clock It,” Symone Sanders Townsend and Eugene Daniels are joined by fundraiser Rufus Gifford to discuss what makes a Democratic candidate viable, why donors are not giving to the DNC like they used to and how the Democratic Party should start thinking about who their presidential candidate will be in 2028. Listen now. On Saturday, Sept. 26, don’t miss the chance to attend “Together in Texas: We The People 2026,” our annual live community event. As the country heads toward the 2026 midterm elections, we’re bringing conversations with top newsmakers and insights from your favorite MS NOW hosts to the place at the center of it all: Texas. Buy your tickets today: ms.now/together.  This weekend on MS NOW   Saturday MS NOW’s “Alex Witt Reports” at 1 p.m. ET: Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.)... Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.)... Gubernatorial Nominee David Jolly (D-Fla.)… Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul… Chris Matthews… Rev. Al Sharpton  MS NOW’s “PoliticsNation” at 5 p.m. ET: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.)… Ben Crump   Sunday MS NOW’s “The Weekend” at 7 a.m. ET: Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI)... Former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada Chrystia Freeland… Former CIA Director John Brennan… Political Strategist  Sawyer Hackett… Political Strategist Brittany Martinez MS NOW’s “Connect with Jacob Soboroff” at 10 a.m. ET: Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine)... Attorney General Letitia James (D-N.Y.) *Subject to change   229 West 43rd St. New York, NY 10036 PRIVACY | CONTACT | UNSUBSCRIBE