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'Sundar Pichai said no, no, no': Donald Trump says Google CEO refused to rename Atlantic Ocean
US President Donald Trump has said he discussed the possibility of renaming the Atlantic Ocean on Google Maps with Google CEO Sundar Pichai
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US President Donald Trump has said he discussed the possibility of renaming the Atlantic Ocean on Google Maps with Google CEO Sundar Pichai, but the company was reluctant to take up the idea. Trump made the remarks during a rally in South Carolina on October 21, where he also joked about renaming the Pacific Ocean the “American Ocean” and speculated about how European leaders would react.
Trump said he had considered renaming the Atlantic Ocean but decided against pursuing the idea after speaking to Pichai. He also referred to Google’s earlier decision to display the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America on Google Maps for users in the United States.
Trump’s conversation with Sundar Pichai
During his speech, Trump said he had spoken to Pichai, whom he described as a “brilliant guy”, about the proposal. He also mentioned Google co-founder Sergey Brin while praising the company’s leadership.
“So we seriously looked at the Atlantic Ocean, and I called Google Maps, who were really great with the lake,” Trump told supporters at Clemson.
“And I spoke to a brilliant guy, Sundar. He heads all of Google. He’s a brilliant guy. Sergey and Sundar, totally brilliant guys,” he said, apparently referring to Google co-founder Sergey Brin. “And, you know, they’re still rattled from the Gulf.”
Trump then recounted his conversation with Pichai about the Atlantic Ocean.
“And I said, Sundar, I’m thinking of the Atlantic Ocean. Can you handle it?” Trump said.
Pichai replied: “No, no, no. This time I’m not doing it. Oceans are different, sir. You know, they cover a lot of… They cover really a lot of countries. Please don’t ask us to do that.”
On renaming Pacific Ocean
The US President subsequently suggested he would drop the proposal to rename the Atlantic Ocean. “So I’ll probably pass. Should I pass? I think let’s keep it the Atlantic Ocean, right?” Trump said.
However, Trump floated the possibility of renaming the Pacific Ocean, asking the audience how Europe might respond to such a move.
“We’re going to call it the American Ocean. How do you think Europe would fit?” he said.
Trump claimed that he only liked the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, and had no plans to assign his name or the name of his country to any other ocean.
Trump also referred to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen while speculating about the reaction to the proposed name change.
(Also read: Trump warns EU of ‘much higher levels’ of tariffs over delayed trade deal, sets deadline)
“I'll probably give up on this idea. What do you think, give up? Let's leave the Atlantic Ocean. But the Pacific Ocean—we'll call it the American Ocean. How do you think Europe will react to this? Do you think they'll like it? Europe will be thrilled, right? [European Commission President] Ursula [von der Leyen] will call and say "thank you very much," Trump ironically remarked.
Trump’s comments come after his administration renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America through an executive order shortly after he took office in January 2025. Google Maps subsequently began displaying the new name to users in the US, while users elsewhere continued to see the Gulf of Mexico or both names, depending on their location.
(Also read: Google Maps to rename Gulf of Mexico to 'Gulf of America' for US users)
