Baranyai: Trump's tactics getting tiresome

Our lake of shining waters is having a viral moment. You've probably heard Blue Rodeo fans belting out 'Right in the middle of Lake Ontario' as the band performed It Hasn't Hit Me Yet on Toronto's waterfront. You also may have caught the sly reference to our lake in a new release from American protest singer Jesse Welles, The Nerd Reich, which borrows its title from Gil Duran's bestselling expose of fascism in Silicon Valley. Welles, 33, is the Grammy-nominated singer of Red and Join ICE. The prolific songwriter finds so much inspiration in his changing country, he released four albums in 2025. His latest song connects the dots between the failed war in Iran, and attacking Canada as a distraction, singing: 'On Day 184 of a three-day war, I drove my truck to Lake America.' U.S. President Donald Trump issued the executive order adopting the name Lake America after the recent breakdown of trade discussions with Canada. Americans broadly reacted with embarrassment. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found 63 per cent opposed the name change; a hardened 14 per cent expressed support. Our neighbours across the lake in New York State resolved to ignore the latest presidential distraction. To the surprise of no one, Canadians are finding the presumption of our frenemy harder to ignore. The insult to our history and sovereignty is keenly felt, even knowing Canada will not acquiesce, and cannot be compelled. Even knowing it's the taunt of a bully with a short attention span, and will be withdrawn when trade negotiations resume, one of these TACO Tuesdays. The hollow performance of strength is a clear mark of failure. Still, we are riled enough to take action. Google Maps (whose parent company has pledged millions for construction of a White House ballroom) was the first to roll over and adopt Lake America on queries within U.S. borders. Users balked. Canadian agencies got a real-time lesson on the perils of relying on U.S. tech when some website maps briefly displayed the wrong name. MapQuest, on the other hand, had a very good week after the company declined to alter its maps. Downloads spiked dramatically. Humourist and activist Tod Maffin chose the moment to launch his project Unplug America, a resource promoting alternatives to U.S. tech. Why is the empty taunt getting such a reaction? The U.S. president is no student of history or economics, but he has a very clear grasp of symbols. Trump understands the semiotics of dominance, from slapping America on the Gulf of Mexico, to peppering cities with eponymous skyscrapers, to insisting his name belongs on a performing arts centre named for a better man. He understands the power of images showing Haitian men and women loaded onto a plane shackled in chains, evoking the bonds of slavery, after revoking temporary protected status granted by a kinder, gentler nation.