Bill Maher ridicules liberals’ ‘Lake America’ outrage with jab at left-wing language police
Comedian Bill Maher used his HBO show "Real Time" to mock liberal anger over President Donald Trump's decision to rename Lake Ontario "Lake America," arguing that critics were being hypocritical given their own history of pushing politically driven language changes. Maher's monologue came as a US-Canada trade dispute intensified, with talks between the two countries collapsing and Washington pressing ahead with 50% tariffs on Canadian goods.
Trump signed the executive order renaming the lake from the Oval Office, calling the change "official, effective immediately," and Maher likened it to his earlier renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America." Conservative commentators Curtis Houck and Tim Graham of NewsBusters backed Maher's point, arguing that liberals who embraced terms such as "Latinx" and "birthing person" have no standing to object to Trump's renaming, and accusing the left of wanting sole control over changes to language and terminology.
- Bill Maher mocked liberal outrage over Trump renaming Lake Ontario "Lake America."
- Move came amid a US-Canada trade row and new 50% tariffs.
- Conservative commentators said liberals' own language changes undercut their criticism.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters of Maher’s argument can say that political groups should apply consistent standards to language changes, rather than objecting only when opponents propose them. If some progressives have promoted terms such as “Latinx” or “birthing person” to express inclusion, they can reasonably be challenged to explain why a politically motivated place-name change is different.
The case against
Critics can argue that these examples are not equivalent: inclusive terms may be chosen to describe people more accurately or respectfully, while a president renaming a shared geographic feature by executive order can be seen as a symbolic assertion of national power. They may also object to treating varied views across the left as a single position, or to using perceived inconsistency to dismiss concerns about the decision itself.