Based on reporting by The Verge.
What happened
At a rally on Oct 17 2026 former president Donald Trump said Google would not have taken his call in his first term and now they are favorable, and he claimed he called Google Maps and convinced the service to rename the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario.
Google responded that its map naming updates rely on official government sources such as the Geographic Names Information System and that the company does not alter names based on individual requests.
AIBeat analysis
This could indicate that statements from high‑profile politicians may be intended to influence public perception of tech platforms, but Google's stated policy suggests that any actual name change would still require formal government approval, limiting the practical effect of the former president's claim.