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Joe Rogan Criticizes Trump's 'Lake America' Renaming as Distraction from Iran War
Podcaster Joe Rogan, who endorsed Trump in 2024, criticized the renaming of Lake Ontario to 'Lake America,' calling it a distraction from the ongoing war with Iran. The remarks came amid a trade dispute with Canada. Rogan and other right-leaning figures, including Matt Walsh, have voiced opposition to the name change, while Google and Apple have updated their maps to reflect the new name. Rogan has previously criticized US military actions in Iran, and his comments coincided with new strikes against Iran.
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Rogan Dismisses Lake Ontario Renaming as 'Distraction'
Podcaster Joe Rogan criticised President Donald Trump's decision to rename Lake Ontario to "Lake America," calling it a distraction from the war with Iran. Speaking on Tuesday's episode of The Joe Rogan Experience with comedian Brian Simpson, Rogan said: "To distract you from the fact that we're in a war that we can't win in Iran. It doesn't make any sense. Like who cares, it's Lake Ontario, it's a good name, we've had that name forever."
Rogan, who endorsed Trump in 2024, made the remarks amid a bitter trade war between the US and Canada, during which Trump signed an executive order renaming the lake. The name change has drawn widespread criticism, including from right-wing commentator Matt Walsh, who called it "dumb," noting that the name Lake Ontario predates both the United States and Canada. "Not sure how you own Canada by deleting your own history," Walsh wrote on social media.
Rogan also argued that the move was politically unwise for Republicans: "Politically this is also stupid because the number one challenge Republicans will face in the midterms is the charge that they haven't used their time in power to advance the interests of everyday Americans. This kind of thing will be used as evidence to make that case."
Rogan's Broader Criticism of the Iran War
This is not the first time Rogan has spoken out against the US military action in Iran, now in its seventh month. In July, he said: "We might've f*ed up by going to Iran," adding that "most people don't want it, except supporters of Israel." He has also suggested a link between the release of the Epstein files and the launch of the war, saying: "Look, the Epstein files comes (sic) out - we go to war with Iran. It's a good way to get people to stop talking about certain things."
In a recent episode, Rogan agreed with journalist Annie Jacobsen that there had been a "fundamental warping" of the US military. He noted, "it seems like our stockpiles are running dry. You know, bases are getting blown up by drones." He added that the real problem is that "it makes America an enemy and it makes us less safe because America has done this thing, this unprovoked attack and so now, they have a reason to attack back."
Rogan's remarks came the same day Trump announced a new wave of retaliatory strikes against Iran. A number of people were reportedly killed in attacks that hit civilian locations along Iran's southern coast, including a wedding and an airport. Trump warned on social media: "If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings."
Canadian and Tech Reaction
The renaming has also drawn a response from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said in a statement that Canada will continue to recognise the lake's original name. "Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario - then, now and always," Carney wrote.
Google faced criticism for updating Google Maps to reflect the new name and defended its decision in a blog post. Apple has also updated its navigation app after Trump asked the company to do so.
How each outlet told it
A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.
Framing: Highlights Rogan's criticism of Trump's renaming action — Critical but measured
Facts Included:
Joe Rogan knocked President Donald Trump's 'Lake America' name change on Tuesday
Rogan endorsed Trump in 2024
Trump renamed Lake Ontario amid a tariff battle with Canada
Rogan said 'It's to distract you from the fact we are in a war we can't win in Iran'
Rogan said 'It doesn't make any sense'
The ongoing war has become a point of concern for the GOP ahead of the midterms as polls show the president's approval rate falling among voters who are unhappy with high gas prices and rising living costs
Rogan said 'Who cares if it's Lake Ontario? It's a good name. We've had that name forever.'
Rogan hosts the most-listened-to podcast in the
Matt Walsh, a right-wing political commentator who has often supported Trump, called the decision 'dumb'
Walsh wrote in a social media post last week: 'Yeah it's funny when Canadians are upset I guess or whatever, but Lake Ontario, the name itself, is American history dating back many centuries... Not sure how you own Canada by deleting your own history.'
Lake Ontario earned its title more than 400 years ago from the Wyandot people, an Indigenous nation that lived in the North American Great Lakes region
Rogan said 'Politically this is also stupid because the number one challenge Republicans will face in the midterms is the charge that they haven't used their time in power to advance the interests of everyday Americans... This kind of thing will be used as evidence to make that case.'
Rogan has become a more regular critic of Trump during his second stint in the White House
Rogan blasted the administration's handling of the Epstein files and referred to Trump's immigration raids as 'insane'
Rogan recently denounced the administration's blind support for Israel, claiming that the genocide in Gaza is indefensible
Rogan has continued to express his frustrations with Trump's ongoing war with Iran, which has led to the deaths of 18 U.S. service members and cost the country billions
Rogan said 'They're the only people that seem to be thinking it's a good idea in this country... Most people are horrified by the idea, because Trump was elected — one of the pillars that he stood for, apparently, was that he doesn't want any more wars.'
Rogan's remarks come the same day Trump announced a new wave of retaliatory strikes against Iran
A number of people were reportedly killed in the attacks, which hit a number of civilian locations along Iran's southern coast, including a wedding and an airport
Trump warned on social media: 'If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings.'
Framing: The headline emphasizes Rogan's criticism of Trump's name change as a distraction — Critical and mocking
Facts Included:
Podcaster Joe Rogan has torn into President Trump over his decision to rename Lake Ontario
Rogan accused the man he endorsed in 2024 of attempting to distract voters from the war with Iran
The influencer made the remarks on Tuesday's episode of The Joe Rogan Experience amid a bitter trade war between the S and Canada, during which Trump has signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America
Rogan blasted: "It's to distract you from the fact we are in a war we can't win with Iran,"
Rogan said: "It doesn't make any sense."
Rogan said: "Who cares if it's Lake Ontario? It's a good name. We've had that name forever."
This is not the first time Rogan has been vocal about his opposition to Trump's war with Iran, now into its seventh month with no end in sight
In July, Rogan said: "We might've f***ed up by going to Iran, " and "Most people don't want it, except supporters of Israel."
Rogan said: "They're the only people that seem to be thinking it's a good idea in this country, " and "Most people are horrified by the idea, because Trump was elected - one of the pillars that he stood for, apparently, was that he doesn't want any more wars."
In April, Rogan even suggested that there could be a possible link between the release of the Epstein files and the launch of the war with Iran
Rogan said: "Look, the Epstein files comes (sic) out - we go to war with Iran, " and "It's a good way to get people to stop talking about certain things."
Rogan's discussion about the Lake Ontario name change came amid the 's trade war with Canada, which saw the former country imposing tariffs on some imports from the latter
In response, Canada imposed its own retaliatory tariffs on some imports from the S
Then, Trump went on to announce the renaming of Lake Ontario to Lake America
During Tuesday's podcast episode Rogan and his guest, comedian Brian Simpson, shared trivia about the Great Lakes
Simpson joked that the renaming of the lake means that the HOMES acronym - which helps school children remember Lake Huron, Lake Ontario, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie and Lake Superior - will have to change
Rogan asked: "Homes?" and "Oh, yeah…the acronym. I didn't learn that."
Trump's decision to rename Lake Ontario has been widely criticized, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney writing in a statement that the country will continue to recognise the lake's original name
Carney wrote: "We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their"
Carney wrote: "Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario - then, now and always."
Framing: Highlights Rogan’s criticism of the name change, emphasizing his view that it doesn’t make sense — critical and somewhat dismissive
Facts Included:
Joe Rogan called the Trump administration’s Lake Ontario name change a “distraction” from real issues such as the Iran war
Rogan spoke on The Joe Rogan Experience with comedian Brian Simpson on Tuesday (September 1)
Donald Trump continues to celebrate his renaming of Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’ with AI slop of combover-sporting geese
Google has come under fire for its decision to honour the rebrand on Google Maps
Trump signed an executive order mandating the change on Thursday, amid a trade dispute with Canada
Google defended its decision in a blog post on Saturday after facing an initial backlash
Apple has now done the same after Trump asked the company to update the name of Lake Ontario to "Lake America" on its navigation app
Rogan said: "To distract you from the fact that we're in a war that we can't win in Iran"
Rogan said: "Like who cares, it's Lake Ontario, it's a good name, we've had that name forever"
Rogan has previously criticised the US military actions against Iran on his podcast, saying there were no clear signs of how to end the war
Rogan agreed with journalist Annie Jacobsen who claimed that there had been a "fundamental warping" of the US military
Rogan said: "Yeah, without a doubt" and "And also no clear way to resolve this at all"
Rogan said: "And it seems like our stockpiles are running dry" and "You know, bases are getting blown up by drones"
Rogan said: "that the real problem is it makes America an enemy and it makes us less safe because America has done this thing, this unprovoked attack and so now, they have a reason to attack back"
AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the distinct outlets we found asserting that specific claim — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimJoe Rogan called the Trump administration’s Lake Ontario name change a “distraction” from real issues such as the Iran war.
ClaimRogan said: "that the real problem is it makes America an enemy and it makes us less safe because America has done this thing, this unprovoked attack and so now, they have a reason to attack back".
ClaimThe ongoing war has become a point of concern for the GOP ahead of the midterms as polls show the president's approval rate falling among voters who are unhappy with high gas prices and rising living costs.
ClaimWalsh wrote in a social media post last week: 'Yeah it's funny when Canadians are upset I guess or whatever, but Lake Ontario, the name itself, is American history dating back many centuries... Not sure how you own Canada by deleting your own history.'
ClaimLake Ontario earned its title more than 400 years ago from the Wyandot people, an Indigenous nation that lived in the North American Great Lakes region.
ClaimRogan said 'Politically this is also stupid because the number one challenge Republicans will face in the midterms is the charge that they haven't used their time in power to advance the interests of everyday Americans... This kind of thing will be used as evidence to make that case.'
ClaimRogan has continued to express his frustrations with Trump's ongoing war with Iran, which has led to the deaths of 18 U.S. service members and cost the country billions.
ClaimRogan said 'They're the only people that seem to be thinking it's a good idea in this country... Most people are horrified by the idea, because Trump was elected — one of the pillars that he stood for, apparently, was that he doesn't want any more wars.'
ClaimA number of people were reportedly killed in the attacks, which hit a number of civilian locations along Iran's southern coast, including a wedding and an airport.
ClaimTrump warned on social media: 'If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings.'
ClaimRogan made the remarks on Tuesday's episode of The Joe Rogan Experience amid a bitter trade war between the S and Canada, during which Trump has signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America.
ClaimRogan said: "Look, the Epstein files comes (sic) out - we go to war with Iran, " and "It's a good way to get people to stop talking about certain things."
ClaimRogan's discussion about the Lake Ontario name change came amid the 's trade war with Canada, which saw the former country imposing tariffs on some imports from the latter.
ClaimSimpson joked that the renaming of the lake means that the HOMES acronym - which helps school children remember Lake Huron, Lake Ontario, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie and Lake Superior - will have to change.
ClaimTrump's decision to rename Lake Ontario has been widely criticized,with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney writing in a statement that the country will continue to recognise the lake's original name.