Can Trump change New Mexico’s name to ‘New America’? What to know
The New Mexico state flag and the American flag fly side-by-side in Santa Fe
By Molly English, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump on Monday called on New Mexico to change its name to “New America” — the latest example of him seeking geographical name changes 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 on Truth Social, shortly before departing the White House for a midterm rally in Kansas.
His comments about New Mexico — a blue state he lost by 6 points in 2024 — come as Republicans are anxious about holding their congressional majorities in November, with voters saying in polling that the president isn’t paying enough attention to the country’s most pressing problems.
But while Trump has the power to rename what geographic landmarks, such as bodies of water, are called in the Geographic Names Information System, he doesn’t have the constitutional ability to legally rename states. That process would need to happen within the state.
Trump, for example, has used his powers to change the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America,” signing an executive order in August as part of his ongoing trade war with Canada. He took similar executive action last year to rename the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America.” The president has also repeatedly floated renaming the Strait of Hormuz the “Trump Strait.”
Trump has previously suggested renaming New Mexico, although not so forcefully. In September, he posted to 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.
New Mexico’s name predates the founding of the United States back to the 16th century, according to a fact sheet on the origin of state names from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
On Monday, Trump claimed — without citing any evidence — that “home values and incomes would rise” because of a name change. And he repeated his baseless claims about rigged elections by adding, “Maybe even the Crooked Elections, that New Mexico is known for, would become honest again!”
New Mexico Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday evening dismissed Trump’s comments.
“Let me repeat: New Mexico was New Mexico long before the United States existed and we’ll be New Mexico forevermore,” she wrote in a post on X.
Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico wrote in a social post that the state’s name “carries generations of history, culture, and rich traditions that continue to shape who we are.”
“We are New Mexicans. We’re proud of our name, proud of our home, and we’re keeping both. Long after Donald Trump is out of office, we’ll still be New Mexico,” he continued.
The-CNN-Wire
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This headline and story have been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Piper Hudspeth Blackburn contributed to this report.
