Apple CEO Bends Knee to Trump on First Day of the Job

REUTERS New Apple CEO John Ternus has bent the knee to President Donald Trump just hours after taking over the reins from Tim Cook.

Ternus, 51, took the helm of the $4 trillion tech giant on Tuesday, replacing Cook, 65, after his 15-year tenure.

Cook has moved into the role of executive chairman.

If Ternus is looking to put his own stamp on Apple, he appears to be keeping at least one key part of Cook’s playbook intact: dancing to Trump’s tune.

Apple renamed Lake Ontario to “Lake America” on its Apple Maps service on Tuesday, five days after the erratic president signed an executive order changing the name amid his trade war with Canada.

Trump’s order directed the Interior Department to update federal databases and materials with the new name within 30 days.

Apple told Reuters that it made the change after the lake’s name was updated in the U.S.

Geographic Names Information System.

The timing raised eyebrows, coming just one day after Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox News that Trump, 80, had “reached out to Apple directly” about the name change.

Competitor Google Maps had rolled out the new “Lake America” name over the weekend.

Apple did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s questions about why it made the change and what role Ternus played in the decision.

The Daily Beast has also reached out to the White House for comment.

For Canadian users, the lake will remain Lake Ontario, while users elsewhere in the world will see both names.

Apple took the same approach under Cook after Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America in January 2025.