Outrage as Trump Suggests Renaming New Mexico to New America

US President Donald Trump has stirred fresh controversy after suggesting that the state of New Mexico should be renamed “New America.”

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Trump made the proposal on Sunday, September 6, 2026, in a post on his Truth Social platform. He also shared an altered map in which the word “Mexico” in New Mexico was crossed out and replaced with “America.” The White House later amplified the image on X. 

Trump claimed the idea had been suggested by several people and argued that “New America” would give the state a more prestigious identity.

His latest proposal has, however, been met with immediate resistance from officials in New Mexico, who dismissed the idea and defended the state's historic name.

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said New Mexico's name was not open for discussion. She argued that it had existed long before the United States itself was established. 

The governor also accused Trump of shifting attention away from issues affecting American families.

According to Grisham, rising fuel and grocery costs, access to healthcare and housing affordability deserve greater attention than what she described as efforts to alter names on maps. 

Other New Mexico politicians also rejected Trump's suggestion.

US Senator Martin Heinrich insisted that New Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario should continue to be known by their established names. 

Representative Melanie Stansbury likewise argued that the state's name is closely tied to generations of history, culture and family. 

The proposal has also raised an important legal question. Unlike federal geographic features, a US president cannot simply change the legal name of a state through an executive order. 

Any formal change to New Mexico's name would require a process involving the state itself. 

Trump's latest suggestion follows several other controversial attempts to alter geographic names.

Earlier in his second term, he ordered the federal government to use “Gulf of America” instead of “Gulf of Mexico.” More recently, his administration moved to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America” for US federal purposes. 

He has also floated the idea of renaming the Strait of Hormuz “Trump Strait” amid the ongoing conflict involving Iran, although he later appeared to indicate that the suggestion was not a serious proposal.

For now, there is no official change to New Mexico's name. Trump's post remains a suggestion rather than a formal government action.

Nevertheless, the episode has added another chapter to the president's growing campaign to reshape the names of prominent American geographical features.