Trump’s AI-Generated ‘Lake America’ Video Sparks Controversy Amid US-Canada Tariff War

POLICY WIRE — Washington, USA — President Donald Trump shared an AI-generated video on Saturday, showcasing an army of muscular, bequiffed, and heavily-armed “Donald Ducks” securing the shores of “Lake America”.

This post followed Trump’s executive order to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” in the midst of a fierce tariff dispute with Canada, a long-standing U.S. ally and trading partner.

The 34-second video, set to the Hawaii Five-O theme, features a squadron of Canada geese with human arms, carrying assault rifles and sporting the president’s distinctive blond hairstyle. The geese fire their weapons into the air as fireworks light up the skyline of a city resembling Toronto.

Earlier in the week, Trump hinted at rebranding Lake Ontario, which lies on the U.S.-Canada border. He posted a TikTok video of himself using a Sharpie to alter a map of the lake, stating, We’re gonna make a little change; we’re gonna call it something different than Lake Ontario.

Trump’s executive order mandates federal agencies to use “Lake America” in all official documents, mirroring his previous attempt to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America”. However, this directive does not extend to foreign nations, private entities, or U.S. states.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded on X, emphasizing the historical significance of the name Lake Ontario, derived from the Wendat word Ontari’io, meaning “the lake is beautiful, the lake is big”. He asserted that the name, over 400 years old, predates both Canada and the U.S.

Relations between the U.S. and Canada have worsened since Trump’s inauguration, particularly due to his suggestion that Canada should become the “51st state”. The imposition of 50 percent tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian exports by the U.S. on August 22, following failed negotiations, has further strained these relations.

Carney, refuting Trump’s accusations of Canadian discrimination against U.S. businesses, imposed retaliatory tariffs of up to 50 percent on various U.S. goods. The trade conflict has also led to a verbal war, with Trump criticizing Ontario Premier Doug Ford as a “flunky” on Truth Social, and Ford responding by calling Trump a “dictator”, a “bully”, and the “king of bankruptcies”, telling him to “kiss my a**”.

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)