Trump says he will "probably pass" on renaming the Atlantic Ocean after Google CEO Sundar Pichai objected.
Trump made the remark at a Wednesday night rally, as first reported by the Washington Post. He said he contacted Pichai about the idea, and Pichai allegedly replied, "Please don't ask us to do that." Trump also claimed Pichai said, "No, no, no. This time, I'm not doing it," and that "Oceans are different, sir." Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The "this time" is the telling part. Google had already renamed Lake Ontario and the Gulf of Mexico on Google Maps following Trump's executive orders. If Trump's telling is accurate, the Atlantic is the first request the company pushed back on, and the exchange happened by contact with Pichai rather than through an order.
Treat the quotes with care. Every word here comes from Trump's account of a private conversation, delivered at a rally, and Google has not confirmed any of it. Pichai's side is known only through what Trump says he said.
Still, the distinction has some logic. A lake and a gulf are bounded bodies of water. The Atlantic touches far more coastlines, so a label change there would reach well beyond one country's borders. That is an inference, not something Google has said.
The open question is whether Google has a stated rule for these requests or decides case by case. Nothing in the account points to a written policy.