President Trump ignited a new political fight over the Labor Day weekend after repeatedly promoting the idea of giving New Mexico a distinctly different name: “New America.”
President Trump shared several altered maps on Truth Social showing “Mexico” crossed out of the state’s name and replaced with “America.” He also circulated an AI-generated video depicting himself changing a New Mexico roadside sign. The official White House social media account subsequently shared one of the images, giving the proposal even more attention. Reuters reported that President Trump said the idea had been suggested by supporters.
“So much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State. Wow, I Love It!!!” President Trump wrote.
The proposal was enough to get New Mexico’s Democratic leadership responding almost immediately.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham rejected the idea, arguing that New Mexico’s name is inseparable from the state’s history.
“It’s been ours since before the United States existed,” Lujan Grisham said before pivoting to criticism of the administration over Iran, gasoline prices and other economic issues.
She also used the controversy to promote her administration’s policies on child care, higher education, health care and housing, adding, “While the White House wastes time coloring on maps, Nuevo México is busy doing the work.”
New Mexico’s Democratic senators joined the dispute.
Sen. Martin Heinrich wrote, “Three things I will always call by their actual names…” before listing the Gulf of Mexico, Lake Ontario and New Mexico. Sen. Ben Ray Luján responded even more sharply: “It’s New Mexico, always has been and always will be. Just like how you’ll always be a sinvergüenza and corrupt.”
For all the social media fireworks, there is a major legal obstacle between President Trump’s posts and an actual state called New America.
Article I of the New Mexico Constitution expressly states, “The name of this state is New Mexico.” Changing that legal name would therefore require action through New Mexico’s constitutional process. The president does not possess unilateral authority to officially rename a state.
That makes this situation different from President Trump’s previous geographic renaming initiatives.
On his return to office in 2025, President Trump directed the federal government to use “Gulf of America” instead of Gulf of Mexico. More recently, he ordered federal agencies to use “Lake America” for Lake Ontario. Those actions concern federal naming practices for geographic features rather than changing the constitutional name of a state.
New Mexico’s name also has considerably deeper roots than its 1912 admission to the Union. Historical accounts trace the use of “New Mexico” for the region back centuries, long before New Mexico became the 47th state.
So despite the viral maps, AI videos and predictable political sparring, residents should not expect their driver’s licenses to suddenly say “New America.”
For now, New America is a name being promoted by President Trump, not an official change. Making it official would require considerably more than a Truth Social post and a digitally edited map.
Leave a Comment