Joe Rogan took aim at President Donald Trump’s push to call Lake Ontario “Lake America,” but his criticism came alongside a separate controversy on his podcast. The Trump-backed name change has drawn ridicule in Canada and resistance in the U.S., while Rogan also used his show to repeat a disputed claim about COVID-19 vaccines and miscarriage.
Joe Rogan reacts to Trump’s Lake America concept
Trump’s proposed rebranding of Lake Ontario quickly became a punchline, and Rogan appeared to join the backlash. The podcaster, who supported Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign, suggested the name change served little purpose, putting him among Americans unimpressed by the move.
According to Rogan, the rebranding “doesn’t make any sense,” and the only reason Trump did this was to take attention off the fact that the US is in a “war that we can’t win in Iran.” Canada has its own answer.
Prime Minister Mark Carney stressed that the lake predates both modern countries and insisted it remains Lake Ontario. “This lake is called Lake Ontario—today and forever,” Carney wrote in a social media post.
The White House move also failed to win broad support among Americans. A Reuters/Ipsos poll cited in the report found that 63% of respondents opposed the renaming. The dispute followed a breakdown in U.S.-Canada trade negotiations and added another flash point between Trump and Canada.
Rogan’s reaction to the geographic makeover, however, was only one part of his recent podcast discussion. On his show, he also revisited claims surrounding COVID-19 vaccination and pregnancy, referencing Republican Sen. Ron Johnson’s suggestion that the shots could increase miscarriage risks during the first trimester.
Rogan acknowledged that he did not know the specifics before declaring there was a “high risk of miscarriage” for women in that stage of pregnancy. He later pointed to personal anecdotes, saying, “I know five women that had miscarriages after they got vaccinated.”
That claim isn’t backed by the available evidence. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh reviewed 21 studies covering 149,685 women, combining data from randomized trials and observational research. Their analysis found no evidence that COVID-19 vaccination was linked to harmful pregnancy outcomes.
