GOP ex-lawmaker leery of Trump's 'Lake America' rebrand — for a truly bizarre reason

Former Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) broke the mold by saying he's unsure about President Donald Trump's order changing Lake Ontario's name to "Lake America" in a segment on Fox News Thursday.

But the reason he offered was one few viewers would likely expect.

Specifically, he claimed it would ruin the HOMES acronym for the Great Lakes — Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior — and turn it into HAMES, which, in his view, sounds too much like the terrorist organization Hamas.

"That's what bothers me about changing the name from Ontario to America, is how close that acronym is to Hamas," said Gowdy. "It will confuse a lot of kids. That's why I haven't made up my mind on it yet."

Trump ordered the change in retaliation for Ontario Premier Doug Ford's saber-rattling over the president's new tariffs on Canada. Ford has even threatened to cut off international power transmission to states that get some of their electricity from north of the border.