US President Trump boasts: “Google is now kissing my butt”
Donald Trump suggests that he personally persuaded Google to rename the Gulf of Mexico in Maps. The company objects to direct interference by the US President. Only official government data is used for the maps.
Trump’s alleged influence
Last weekend, US President Donald Trump used a campaign event in Highland Heights, Kentucky, to emphasize his alleged influence on technology companies and especially Google. Against the backdrop of the approaching midterm elections on November 3rd, in which the Republican Party fears for its majority in Congress due to economic uncertainties and the ongoing conflict with Iran, he declared that his second term in office would be more far-reaching than the first.
In the first legislative session, Google wouldn’t even answer my call. Now they’re kissing my ass. Donald Trump
As an example, he cited the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and Lake Ontario to Lake America. Trump indicated that he personally initiated this by calling Google. According to him, Google didn’t even accept his call during his first term in office, and now the company is showing itself to be submissive.
Map service follows official data
As The Verge reported, Google contradicts the depiction of direct interference in a statement. The Mountain View, California-based company said it based its naming on official government sources. For the USA, the Geographic Names Information System is used. In accordance with the requirements for bodies of water whose names vary from country to country, the mapping platform shows users the locally valid name depending on their location.
Tech industry seeks proximity to government
However, the US President is not entirely wrong: Since Trump took office again in January 2025, large IT companies have been moving closer to the US government. Representatives from Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Google were already prominently present at the inauguration and have hardly missed an opportunity to curry favor with Trump since then.
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