Trump Floats Renaming New Mexico as ‘New America,’ Prompting Pushback

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The suggestion, posted on social media, appeared to be the latest in the president’s efforts to alter geographic names.

Screenshot taken from this NYT article. | President Trump in the Oval Office on Friday. Over the weekend, he shared a map of New Mexico on social media with the word “Mexico” crossed out with a red X and replaced with “America.”Credit: Tierney L. Cross for The New York Times
President Trump appeared to suggest on Sunday that New Mexico should be renamed “New America,” prompting swift backlash from the state’s Democratic leaders over his latest effort to put an American stamp on geographic names.

On social media, Mr. Trump shared an image of a map of New Mexico with the word “Mexico” crossed out with a red X and replaced with “America.” The White House re-shared the image shortly after on its official X account.

The president posted again several hours later, with what appeared to be an A.I. video of him placing a label with the word “America” over “Mexico” on a “Welcome to New Mexico” road sign.

Mr. Trump has no legal authority to rename any state, which in New Mexico’s case is written into its Constitution. Any proposed change would have to originate within the state, a prospect that New Mexico’s Democratic leaders rejected forcefully on Sunday. » | Dan Watson | Monday, September 7, 2026