Trump Officially Renames Grand Canyon ‘Grand Kamala’
WASHINGTON — One day after directing federal agencies to rechristen Lake Michigan as Lake Big Mike, President Donald Trump announced he would also rename the Grand Canyon “The Grand Kamala,” describing the move as a natural extension of the administration’s geographic modernization effort.
“We’re on a roll,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “The lake was one thing. Now the canyon. It’s very wide and spread apart with a lot of fluids running through it. Kamala is really the same, in her way. A lot of people don’t know that. We’re going to call it The Grand Kamala. Has a nice ring. Very presidential. Better than Grand Canyon, which is just two words that don’t even go together that well if you think about it.”
The White House said an executive order would instruct the National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Board on Geographic Names to replace the existing designation on all federal maps, visitor materials, and interpretive signs. Officials estimated the work would take “a period of time.”
A senior administration official said the president had considered several alternatives, including “Kamala Gorge,” “The Unburdened Canyon,” and “What Can Be National Park,” before selecting The Grand Kamala as the most dignified option. “He felt it struck the right balance,” the official said. “Grand, but also specific.”
Arizona officials reacted with a mixture of confusion and irritation. Gov. Katie Hobbs called the proposal “unnecessary and expensive.” Sen. Mark Kelly said the canyon had been called the Grand Canyon for more than a century and that changing it would confuse hikers, pilots, and anyone using a paper map. Tourism operators along the South Rim noted that millions of brochures, trail markers, and hotel websites would need updating.
“We’ll do whatever the signs say,” said a rafting outfitter on the Colorado River. “As long as the drop is still there.”
House Democrats condemned the rename as “petty retribution dressed up as commemoration.” Several members pointed out that Vice President Harris had never requested the honor and had, in fact, visited the canyon only once in an official capacity. Republicans largely treated the announcement as a joke that had escaped containment.
The National Park Service, which manages Grand Canyon National Park, declined to comment on the political aspects of the order. An internal memo obtained by reporters listed immediate practical concerns: 1,200-plus trail signs, the visitor center exhibits, the park newspaper, and the large stone letters at the South Rim entrance. The memo estimated reprinting costs in the low millions and noted that many signs are bolted into rock.
Historians observed that the canyon’s English name dates to the 19th century and that several Native nations have long-standing names of their own. The Hopi, Havasupai, and Navajo Nations were not consulted, according to tribal officials. One spokesman said the tribe would continue using its traditional name “regardless of what Washington puts on the brochure.”
Asked whether other national landmarks were next, Trump said he was “looking at a few more” but that Mount Rushmore was “already perfect” and Yellowstone “has enough names.” He added that the Grand Canyon rename would “bring a lot of attention” to a site he described as “very popular, very brown, very deep.”
The Harris campaign and the former vice president’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee called the announcement “the kind of thing that happens when you give a man a Sharpie and a list of national parks.”
Implementation is expected to begin after the Lake Michigan order is finalized. Park rangers have been instructed not to argue with visitors who continue to use the old name.
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