Seth Meyers Calls Out the Ridiculous Detail in Trump’s ‘Lake America’ Gag

During a laid‑back summer‑break update on his “Late Night” website, Seth Meyers let out a little frustration that many of us felt after seeing Donald Trump’s latest cartographic caper. The former president had just signed an executive order that, among other things, declared that Lake Ontario would now be called “Lake America.”

What really got Meyers’ goat, though, wasn’t the renaming itself – though he did call it "real dork‑shit" – but the way Trump presented it. In a short video, Trump holds a map, dramatically draws a line through the words “Lake” and “Ontario,” and then, with the same flourish, writes “Lake America” in bright lettering.

“Why not just cross out ‘Ontario’ and write ‘America’?” Meyers asked, half‑smiling, half‑exasperated. He lingered on that odd visual cue, pointing out that the extra stroke of crossing out the whole phrase seemed like an unnecessary flourish, the kind of detail that makes a gag feel forced.

The whole stunt, according to Meyers, is a reminder that Trump’s grand‑standing often ends up looking like a school‑yard joke. He likened it to the former president’s earlier “Gulf of America” renaming of the Gulf of Mexico – a move that, like the Lake America change, has zero legal standing with other nations or private entities.

“They’re just such dorks,” Meyers quipped, noting that the name change comes amid a broader trade war with Canada. “Again, it’s a real reminder that they can’t actually accomplish anything. Nobody cares. Everybody can see it for what it is.”

While the clip only lasts a couple of minutes, the punchline sticks: a map, a crossed‑out label, and a headline that feels more like a meme than a policy decision. Whether you’re a fan of late‑night humor or just someone who likes a good‑old‑fashioned eye‑roll, Meyers’ take on the “Lake America” episode hits the sweet spot of sarcastic reality TV commentary.