Al Michaels appeared to take a subtle dig at President Trump during Thursday night's NFL preseason game between the Patriots and Browns on Amazon Prime Video, telling viewers to "read the news" after referencing the Lake Ontario name change
Al Michaels speaks onstage at the Disney Entertainment Showcase at D23: Legends on August 16, 2026 in Anaheim, California
Al Michaels took a cheeky swipe at Donald Trump(Image: Kevin Mazur, Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Disney)
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NFL broadcaster Al Michaels took a swipe at Donald Trump during an NFL preseason live broadcast on Thursday evening, urging viewers to "read the news."
While commenting on Thursday night's Patriots-Browns preseason matchup on Amazon Prime Video, Michaels referenced President Trump's decision to rename Lake Ontario as "Lake America" amid the escalating trade dispute with Canada and its president, Mark Carney.
Trump signed documents on Thursday ordering the body of water to be renamed "Lake America", telling reporters in the Oval Office: "We're going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario, effective immediately, to Lake America.
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"We filed all the necessary papers, documents, everything else. We notified all of the various people that we have to notify. So we've done everything that you have to do, and this is official, effective immediately."
The 81-year-old Michaels made his comments as the broadcast showed an overhead shot of Huntington Bank Field, with Cleveland's downtown and Lake Erie in view.
"That is Lake Erie. We think it is still called Lake Erie... We're not quite sure at this point," he remarked as Kirk Herbstreit laughed. "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... Read the news."
While discussing the 2026 "TNF" schedule, which features the broadcast crew heading to Buffalo in Week 2 for the Bills' clash with the Detroit Lions, Michaels cracked the joke in his signature understated fashion without ever directly naming Trump.
Michaels boasts a storied broadcasting career spanning back to 1971 in network sports television, having called some of the sport's most memorable moments across more than five decades.
Since 2022, he has worked exclusively as the play-by-play announcer for Thursday Night Football. Michaels departed NBC for Prime Video before the 2022 season when Amazon obtained the rights to "TNF" for the first time.
He originally inked a three-year contract with Amazon, reportedly worth $15 million annually, but is now thought to be operating under a year-to-year agreement with the platform.
Trump Renames Lake Ontario As Lake America, Stoking Canada Spat
Trump signed an executive order Thursday declaring that Lake Ontario be renamed(Image: Getty)
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Speculation surfaced earlier this year that Michaels might hang up the microphone following the 2025 NFL season, but he confirmed in January that he would be back for the 2026 campaign.
The veteran announcer told Sports Business Journal that he was "at the top of his game" when announcing his decision to stay on. "First of all, I feel great," Michaels told SBJ.
"Everyone at Amazon has been fantastic and I love working with this group. I've been looking at this year one year at a time and as long as I feel I'm at the top of my game, I'd like to continue."