Trump Suggests Renaming New Mexico to New America
5 sources across 5 countries
Who reported this
- La Nacion
- The Daily Star
- Telex
- El Pais
- CNN
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
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President Donald Trump suggested on Sunday that the state of New Mexico should be renamed New America. The president posted an image on Truth Social showing a map of the state with the word Mexico crossed out in red and replaced with America; the White House later reshared the image on X. Trump described the proposed name as more prestigious and beautiful for the people of the state. Some media reports indicated the idea may have originated as an internet hoax.
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and Senator Martin Heinrich rejected the suggestion. Governor Lujan Grisham stated that the name is not up for debate because it predates the United States. She further claimed that the president is attempting to distract the public from soaring gas prices and a war in Iran. Senator Heinrich stated that he would continue to use the actual names for New Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico, and Lake Ontario.
Legal analysts and reports note that while the president can rename geographic landmarks in the Geographic Names Information System, he does not have the constitutional authority to rename a state. Such a change would require a process within the state itself.
This proposal follows a series of renaming efforts by the president. In January 2025, Trump signed an order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. More recently, he signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America, a move that occurred during a trade war with Canada and was rejected by Canadian authorities. Google Maps updated the name for users in the United States to align with official government sources, though users in Canada still see Lake Ontario. Trump has also suggested renaming the Strait of Hormuz as Trump Strait and has teased the possibility of renaming the Atlantic or Pacific oceans.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- Focused on the lack of official White House explanation and the constitutional limitations regarding renaming states.
- Centre
- Presented the event as part of a name changing spree and noted the governor's dismissal of the idea.
- Centre-right
- Highlighted the specific reactions of New Mexico officials and provided detailed context on the Google Maps update for Lake Ontario.
Sources
- Centre-left CNN: Trump shares map that renames New Mexico as ‘New America’
- Centre-left El Pais: Trump drops the possibility on his social network of changing the name of the State of New Mexico to that of "New America"
- Centre-right La Nacion: Trump published a suggestive post in which he proposed changing the name of the state of New Mexico to "New America"
- Centre Telex: Donald Trump played with the idea of what would happen if New Mexico state were also renamed
- Centre The Daily Star: Trump suggests renaming New Mexico state 'New America'
100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.