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Cleveland City Council names a strip of Lake Erie the Gulf of Cleveland
Cleveland, OhioPublished 16 Sep 2026
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Warren LeMay from Cincinnati, OH, United States / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 · source
Council voted 13-1 on Sept. 14 for a satirical emergency resolution renaming two miles of lakefront water, a jab at President Trump’s geographic rebrands.
Cleveland City Council on Sept. 14, 2026, passed Resolution 1047-2026, 13-1, renaming waters from the city’s shoreline two miles into Lake Erie as the Gulf of Cleveland. Ward 4 Councilman Kris Harsh sponsored the emergency measure as satire of President Trump’s orders renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America and Lake Ontario Lake America. The resolution directs city maps and documents to use the name and tells the clerk to notify mapping companies.
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Cleveland City Council passes resolution renaming portion of Lake Erie ‘Gulf Of Cleveland’
Published 14 Sep 2026 accessed 16 Sep 2026
Facts
Harsh pointed to recent work eliminating $160 million in medical debt and tackling housing for Clevelanders.
Harsh also pointed to violent crime being down 20%.
Harsh said the resolution took 15 minutes and cost $0 in taxpayer money.
Chris McCormack said the name gives a lot of pride to Cleveland.
Len Van Niel said he is probably not for the change because it is Lake Erie.
Opinion
Harsh said when things get so absurd you have to poke a little fun at how ridiculous they have gotten.
Harsh said council is also working on more pressing issues in the city.
Harsh said satire predates everyone and fighting fire with fire is an old thing.
Harsh said he hopes Clevelanders get the joke and focus on council decisions and the ballot box.
Cleveland City Council declares part of Lake Erie to be "Gulf of Cleveland"
Published 15 Sep 2026 accessed 16 Sep 2026
Facts
The measure was emergency resolution 1047-2026.
Councilman Kris Harsh represents Ward 4 on Cleveland’s nonpartisan council.
The resolution says any new name the council assigns only binds the City of Cleveland.
The resolution calls the step an emergency measure for public peace, property, health or safety.
Council President Blaine Griffin said Harsh had just made TikTok and YouTube’s top 10 that week.
Cleveland was founded by Moses Cleaveland in 1796, seven years before Ohio became a state.
Opinion
The resolution says that in a digital age nothing is more important than branding.
Ohio city council decides to rename Lake Erie to ‘Gulf of Cleveland’
Published 15 Sep 2026 accessed 16 Sep 2026
Facts
The Hill said Trump’s order declared Lake Ontario be called the Gulf of America.
Mexico sued Google in May 2025 over the Gulf of Mexico name change.
Claudia Sheinbaum had warned that changing the Gulf’s name violated Mexico’s sovereignty.
The Seneca Nation said the order violated the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua.
Doug Ford said the move resembled something out of Saturday Night Live.
Opinion
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Ohio city council joins the renaming trend with ‘Gulf of Cleveland’
Published 15 Sep 2026 accessed 16 Sep 2026
Facts
The White House did not directly address the resolution and instead defended renaming Lake Ontario.
Trump cannot unilaterally change the name of a state.
Trump recently said he would declare the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory and floated renaming it the Trump Strait.
Opinion
Taylor Rogers said Canada has been a bad neighbor ripping off the country for years.
Rogers said Trump promised not to let the country be taken advantage of and is fighting to protect American industries and workers.
Harsh told NBC the administration sometimes seems equal parts cruel and absurd.
Harsh said if renaming is a race to the bottom, Cleveland should jump to the dumbest thing it can come up with.
South Park said it was inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google.
Cleveland Renames Slice of Lake Erie Gulf of Cleveland, Trolls Trump
Published 15 Sep 2026 accessed 16 Sep 2026
Facts
Harsh has served on council since 2022, focused on neighborhood preservation and housing policy.
Trump signed an executive order on Aug. 27, 2026, directing federal agencies.
Lake Erie is the shallowest Great Lake by volume and runs 241 miles long.
The same order restored the name Mount McKinley for Alaska’s Denali.
A unilateral U.S. renaming of shared Lake Ontario carries no weight with Canadian authorities.
Cleveland can define terms on city documents, but federal maps still need the board’s approval.
Carney and Ford noted Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari'io, meaning beautiful lake.
Official U.S. geographic nomenclature is maintained by the United States.
News organizations are largely sticking with the old names.
Florida lawmakers introduced legislation in March 2025 to mandate Gulf of America in state statutes and schools.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott endorsed calling it the Gulf of Texas.
Opinion
Hoodline said the resolution functions more as a signal than a binding legal change.
City Council In Ohio Passes Resolution Renaming Part Of Lake Erie 'Gulf Of Cleveland'
Published 15 Sep 2026 accessed 16 Sep 2026
Facts
A city press release described a gold rush of renamings and rebrandings sparked by federal actions.
Opinion
Harsh said the resolution is meant to highlight the absurdity of national renaming efforts.
Cleveland officials mock Trump with ‘extraordinary’ move: ‘Recognize our sovereignty’
Published 15 Sep 2026 accessed 16 Sep 2026
Facts
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Opinion
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‘Gulf of Cleveland’: City Council Takes Jab at Trump With Proposal to Rename Lake Erie
Published 15 Sep 2026 accessed 16 Sep 2026
Facts
Democratic lawmakers in Congress prepared counterlegislation to stop Trump from renaming Lake Ontario.
Cleveland lawmakers titled the measure renaming a portion of Lake Erie as the new Gulf of Cleveland now and forever.
Opinion
No opinion marked.