Trump’s Lake-Renaming Nonsense Roasted During Thursday Night Football

It’s impossible to keep politics completely out of sports, especially when the people running the country keep handing comedians, commentators, and apparently NFL broadcasters an endless supply of material.

During a preseason edition of Thursday Night Football, legendary play-by-play announcer Al Michaels took a subtle but unmistakable shot at the current administration shortly after Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel threw a touchdown against the New England Patriots.

As the broadcast returned from commercial, cameras panned across Huntington Bank Field and the nearby Lake Erie. That’s when Michaels decided to clown the president’s stupid beef with Canada.

“That is Lake Erie. We think it is still called Lake Erie — we’re not quite sure at this point,” Michaels said. “But we’ll be by Lake something like Ontario or whatever it’s going to be called by the time we get to Buffalo. Anyway, you know what I’m talking about. Some of you do. Read the news.”

If you’ve been paying attention, you know exactly what he meant.

The joke appeared to reference President Donald Trump’s latest beef with Canada and his reported threat to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America.” Michaels never mentioned Trump by name, because he didn’t have to. The joke was obvious enough that his broadcast partner, Kirk Herbstreit, immediately laughed before the two returned their attention to the game.

Michaels was also referencing the upcoming 2026 Thursday Night Football schedule, which will take him to Buffalo in Week 2 when the Bills host the Detroit Lions — putting him considerably closer to the lake that may or may not still have the same name by then.

And honestly, this may be one of the better uses of Michaels’ famously dry sense of humor.

At 81, Michaels is preparing to call another NFL season, and if the current state of American politics continues to provide this much material, football fans can probably expect a few more detours into current events.

See social media’s reaction to Michaels’ quip below.