💛 A quick favor, if you've got a second.
We're really happy that you chose to read one of our stories and sincerely hope you'll stick around to read more. We took our paywall down — for now — but that won't last forever, and when the gate goes back up, we'd love for you to already be on the inside.
It's free. So please enter your email here and don't forget to like and follow us on all of your favorite Social Media platforms!
Comedian Bill Maher used his HBO platform Friday night to lampoon progressive outrage surrounding President Donald Trump’s decision to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America.” During the opening segment of “Real Time,” Maher suggested that critics of the move had themselves engaged in similar acts of political language manipulation.
“Trump is so mad at Canada he renamed Lake Ontario Lake America,” Maher said on the broadcast. “Now I gotta buy a new globe again.” He noted this marked approximately the fifth instance of Trump renaming geographic features, referencing the earlier rechristening of the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”
Trump issued an executive order Thursday afternoon from the Oval Office formally implementing the Lake Ontario name change, declaring it “official, effective immediately.” The renaming occurred as trade tensions between Washington and Ottawa intensified, with the U.S. moving toward imposing 50% tariffs on Canadian goods following collapsed negotiations.
Maher then pivoted to critique what he characterized as selective outrage from the left. “The liberals are very pissed at this,” he quipped, arguing that opponents of Trump’s decision lacked credibility given their own embrace of politically motivated terminology shifts. He referenced terms like “Latinx” and “birthing person” as examples of language changes driven by progressive priorities.
Conservative media figures echoed Maher’s sentiment. NewsBusters Managing Editor Curtis Houck told Fox News Digital that liberal acceptance of terminology like “Latinx” undermined their criticism of Trump’s action. “The left needs to take a seat before they can say anything about anything being renamed,” Houck stated.
NewsBusters Executive Editor Tim Graham similarly argued that progressives could not credibly object to renaming efforts. “Liberals want to rename all kinds of things to satisfy their urge for wokeness,” Graham said, citing statue removals and military base renamings. He contended that media outlets routinely accommodate demands from ethnic and LGBTQ advocacy groups to alter language, making the criticism of Trump’s decision hypocritical.
More Stories
Federal voting arrest in New Jersey adds new pressure point in Sherrill-Trump standoff
Colombia backs Trump security push while limiting U.S. role in anti-gang operations
Former NFL cheerleader and ex-aide face off in close Rhode Island GOP primary