We’ve witness Trump’s flawed thinking and ignorance so many times. Was it when he claimed that one reason the United States won the Revolutionary War was because the colonies took the non-existent airports.

I don’t know. I think that gets edged out by his spurious grasp of how tariffs work, especially who pays for them.

Trump renamed Lake Ontario. In so doing, he cited Constitutional authority.

He does not cite anything in the Constitution for that authority. Basically, show me what statute gives the executive branch that power, and does that statute constitutionally authorize this particular action?

Trump — and the GOP — can’t, because nothing gives Trump that power.

A majority of Americans don’t like the name change, but that’s never stopped Trump; his guiding principle is that only he matters. Otherwise, Trump probably have an overall net disapproval rating in every major poll except those specifically done by Republicans or conservatives; none give Trump more than a +10 approval rating.

Trump employs spurious reasoning for changing the lake’s name in his press release about it:

“As I announced in Executive Order 14172 of January 20, 2025 (Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness), it is the policy of my Administration to recognize the extraordinary contributions of the American people and the rich heritage of our history by naming great natural landmarks for our shared achievements.”

Lake Ontario’s name predates the United States by more than a century. Europeans documented Lake Ontario in 1641; the Declaration of Independence was in 1776, and the United States Constitution wasn’t adopted until 1787. Additionally, the United States recognized and agreed to use the name Lake Ontario in three important documents: The Treaty of Paris (1783), The Treaty of Ghent (1814), and The Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909.

Things like this aren’t just summarily dismissed to satisfy one arrogant person’s inflated ego. And if you apply Trump’s reasoning, Canada — who owns 52% of Lake Ontario’s coastline — has as much right to change the lake’s name as Trump asserts. In fact, using Trump’s rationale, based on how important oceans are to their history, many nations can just change the name.

But they’re above that. Because they’re not Trump and recognize that rule and order have a place in this modern world.