US President Donald Trump suggested on Sunday that the state of New Mexico should be renamed “New America,” posting an altered map of the state on his Truth Social platform, in the latest of several geographic renaming moves he has pursued since returning to office.
The image, later reshared by the official White House account on X, showed the outline of New Mexico with the word “Mexico” crossed out in red and replaced with “America.” Trump offered no explanation alongside the initial post.
Donald Trump News Today: What Did Trump Say In His Post?
Late on Sunday, Trump elaborated in a further Truth Social post, writing that “many people suggested changing the name of New Mexico, one of the great vote-cheating states of all time, to NEW AMERICA,” adding that the change would be “so much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State.” He later shared what appeared to be an AI-generated video depicting himself changing signage at the state’s border to read “New America.”
Donald Trump News Today: Does the president have the authority to rename a state?
Unlike geographic features such as lakes, gulfs or mountains, whose federal designations a president can alter through the Geographic Names Information System, a sitting president has no constitutional power to unilaterally rename a US state. Any such change would require action at the state level rather than through federal executive authority, meaning Trump’s social media posts do not carry any legal or official effect on New Mexico’s name.
Donald Trump News Today: How does this follow Trump’s other renaming efforts?
The proposal follows a string of similar moves since Trump returned to office. On his first day back in the White House, he signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” and more recently ordered Lake Ontario be renamed “Lake America” amid an intensifying trade dispute with Canada. New Mexico, which became the 47th US state in 1912, has carried its current name since long before statehood, tracing back to the Spanish colonial era.
Donald Trump News Today: How has New Mexico’s governor responded?
Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham dismissed the proposal outright, writing on social media that “New Mexico’s name isn’t up for debate, it’s been ours since before the United States existed.” She went on to accuse Trump of using the post to distract from other issues, saying that “while the President tries to distract Americans from his disastrous war in Iran, gas prices keep soaring.”
Donald Trump News Today: What have other New Mexico officials said?
Democratic Representative Gabe Vasquez also pushed back against the proposal on social media, telling the president he did not “get to erase New Mexico. Not our name. Not our history. Not our culture.” Republican gubernatorial candidate Gregg Hull offered a rare rebuke from within Trump’s own party, saying simply that “New Mexico does not need a new name.” Other New Mexico Republican officials largely declined to comment when contacted about the proposal.
Donald Trump News Today: Was this proposal linked to an earlier hoax?
Trump’s post came roughly a week after a fabricated claim circulated online suggesting federal officials had already approved a plan to rename New Mexico “New America,” a story that fact-checking site Snopes traced to a satirical social media account and confirmed had never actually occurred. Trump’s genuine post on Sunday appeared to draw directly on that same renaming concept, despite the earlier version having been debunked as fabricated.
Donald Trump News Today: What has the wider reaction been?
Reaction to the proposal was mixed, with some social media users mocking the idea by suggesting other states, such as New York and New Jersey, could similarly be rebranded. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found only 14 per cent of Americans supported Trump’s previous geographic renaming efforts, suggesting the latest proposal is unlikely to shift broader public opinion on the practice. The White House has not announced any formal effort to pursue New Mexico’s renaming beyond the president’s social media posts.
