Trump’s executive order to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America in the United States, unsurprisingly, angered countless Americans and Canadians in the days since. It was what many on the left see as a petty move within the ongoing trade war between the two North American countries.
That said, while many people are right to be angry at the renaming and the organizations and people that went on to support it, it should be equally important to take a step back and realize what this stunt is intended to be.
The Trump administration has always been provocative. Since even before the start of its first term in 2016, Trump and his allies have fostered a culture that centers petty insults and name-calling with the intent of getting the rise out of those it targets. It harkens back to the culture of online right-leaning spaces and websites similar to 4chan, which have had a heavy presence in the general modern conservative movement.
Similar to how the Trump administration changed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, the administration is using this as a means to belittle and get the rise of those that they oppose. At the fundamental level, Trump thrives off of attention and the vindictiveness that he and his allies have fostered within the MAGA movement.
The constant focus on these buzzworthy controversies will always lead to the public’s focus shifting from the more nefarious things this Administration is doing, be it selling off National park land for development or more funding cuts.
