A majority of Americans oppose President Donald Trump’s move to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” amid a heightening trade war between the United States and Canada, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The poll, released Aug. 31, found that only 14% of Americans back changing Lake Ontario’s name, while 63% say they oppose the renaming.
Trump signed an executive order Aug. 27 directing officials to make the change in an apparent attempt to snub Canada after tariff negotiations broke down and the trade war between the two nations escalated.
According to Reuters/Ipsos, the poll was conducted online and nationwide, gathered 1,023 responses and had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
Mike Olcott and Pat Vito of Greece, New York, near Lake
Ontario, told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, part of the USA TODAY Network, they were shocked by Trump's announcement, especially considering that there were more pressing issues for the president to deal with than changing the name of the body of water.
"We've got crime problems and all kinds of things that we need to take care of," Vito said. "That body of water will always be there."
Americans weary of trade war
According to the new poll, a majority of Americans, 57%, said they opposed higher tariffs on Canadian goods while only 20% said they supported Trump’s recent moves.
Trump imposed 50% tariffs on about $20 billion of imports from Canada on Aug. 22, after trade talks collapsed. Canada responded with "dollar for dollar" tariffs up to 50% on about the same value of imports set to start on Sept. 8.
The president's move to tariff Canada comes as households in the United States are already facing financial pressures stemming from rising gas prices in the midst of the war in Iran, which has crossed the six-month mark.
According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the price per gallon of gas was $4.09 on Sept. 1, almost one dollar higher than the price on the same date last year.
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci & Bart Jansen/ USA TODAY and Kerria Weaver & Kayla Canne/ The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Majority of Americans oppose Trump's 'Lake America' move, poll finds
