President Donald Trump on Monday called on New Mexico to change its name to “New America” — the latest example of his push to change geographic names that fit his political agenda.
“New Mexico should immediately change its name to New America. We are not Mexico, we are the United States of America!” Trump wrote at Truth Social shortly before leaving the White House for a midterm rally in Kansas.
His comments on New Mexico — a blue state he lost by 6 points in 2024 — come as Republicans worry about retaining their congressional majority in November, with voters saying in polls that the president is not paying enough attention to the nation’s most pressing issues.
Trump claimed, without citing any evidence, that “home values and incomes would increase” because of a name change. And he reiterated his baseless claims about rigged elections, adding: “Maybe even the crooked elections that New Mexico is known for would become honest again!” »
Trump had previously suggested renaming New Mexico, but with less force. In September, he posted on social media a map of the state with the word “Mexico” crossed out and “America” written underneath — an image that was reposted by the White House X account.
This is just Trump’s latest attempt at rebranding. He signed an executive order in August to change the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” as part of his ongoing trade war with Canada. He took similar steps last year to rename the Gulf of Mexico “Gulf of America.” The president has also repeatedly proposed renaming the Strait of Hormuz “Trump Strait.”
But while Trump has the authority to rename geographic landmarks, such as bodies of water, that are called out in the Geographic Names Information System, he does not have the constitutional ability to legally rename states. This process should take place within the state.
The name New Mexico predates the founding of the United States, in the 16th century, according to a fact sheet on the origin of state names from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
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