President Donald Trump on Sunday appeared to suggest that New Mexico should be called “New America,” posting a photo of the state with the new name days after he signed an executive order to change Lake Ontario to “Lake America.
The image posted on Truth Social, which was reshared by the White House on X, shows the outline of the state with the word “Mexico” crossed out in red and replaced with “America.” There was no explanation shared alongside the image
While Trump has the power to rename geographic landmarks, such as bodies of water, through the Geographic Names Information System, he does not have the constitutional ability to legally rename states — that process would need to happen within the state itself.
The Response
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, accused Trump of trying to distract Americans, insisting that “New Mexico’s name isn’t up for debate.”
“While the President tries to distract Americans from his disastrous war in Iran, gas prices keep soaring,” she said Sunday on X. “While the White House wastes time coloring on maps, Nuevo México is busy doing the work.”
Democratic S. Martin Heinrich also pushed back: “Three things I will always call by their actual names. The Gulf of Mexico. Lake Ontario. New Mexico.”
The Context
Trump has frequently touted his desire to rename landmarks in a show of presidential power. His move to rename Lake Ontario came in the midst of a tense trade war with Canada. He also used an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America in January 2025, on his first day back in office
Shortly after signing that executive order, he also teased potential plans to change the name of one of the oceans on either side of the United States.
“We have a gulf and we have a lake. Now, all we need is an ocean. So, maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific. Maybe we’ll change them both,” he said.
The History
The state’s name predates the founding of the United States, dating back to the 16th century, according to a fact sheet on the origin of state names from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. New Mexico’s name is deeply rooted in its Spanish colonial history and has been used for centuries.
The Bottom Line
President Trump shared a map renaming New Mexico as “New America” on Truth Social, days after he signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario. The White House has not announced any official effort to rename the state, and Trump does not have the constitutional authority to do so unilaterally. New Mexico’s governor and senators have pushed back, insisting the state’s name is not up for debate.
