Cleveland Satirically Renames Lake Erie Stretch as Gulf of Cleveland

Cleveland City Council passed a non-binding, satirical resolution on Monday night to rename a two-mile stretch of Lake Erie the "Gulf of Cleveland," a direct protest against President Donald Trump's executive orders rebranding the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario. The resolution, introduced by Council Member Kris Harsh, directs city departments to use "Gulf of Cleveland" on all city-generated maps and documents and instructs officials to contact Apple and Google to update their digital maps accordingly. It passed with a 13-1 vote and is not legally binding, serving as a symbolic gesture. Harsh described the move as a satirical response to Trump's renaming orders, which have sparked similar efforts in other cities. "I know that calling Lake Erie the Gulf of Cleveland is shockingly dumb. That's the point," Harsh said. "If everybody gets to rename something, then screw it. We'll make it the Gulf of Cleveland." The resolution comes after Trump signed an executive order on August 27, 2026, directing federal agencies to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America, following an earlier order in January 2025 to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.