U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Sunday, September 6, 2026, that the state of New Mexico be renamed “New America,” drawing immediate condemnation from the state’s congressional delegation and Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, according to reports from Daily Mail and The Hindu. The proposal follows a series of executive renamings targeting geographic features, including Lake Ontario and the Gulf of Mexico.
Social Media Posts Spark Outrage Across New Mexico
The controversy began when the 80-year-old Republican president posted an artificial intelligence-altered meme on social media showing a map of New Mexico with the word “Mexico” crossed out in red and replaced with “America,” accompanied by the caption that the new name was “so much more prestigious and beautiful,” as reported by The Hindu. Following initial pushback, Trump published an AI-generated video showing him placing a new “America” label over a “Welcome to New Mexico” highway sign.
Elected officials in New Mexico responded immediately over the Labor Day weekend. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham stated that the name “isn’t up for debate — it’s been ours since before the United States existed,” adding in remarks to Fox News that the proposal aimed to distract Americans from economic pressures such as price hikes, according to Daily Mail. Senator Ben Ray Lujan criticized the president using a Spanish insult on social media, while Senator Martin Heinrich declared that New Mexico is one of three entities he will always call by its actual name alongside Lake Ontario and the Gulf of Mexico.
Executive Limits and Broader Renaming Initiatives
While the president has used executive authority to alter the names of federal bodies of water and geographic features—such as signing an order to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” during trade tensions with Canada, and designating the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” upon taking office in 2025—legal experts note that he lacks the power to rename a U.S. state. State names established within regional constitutions cannot be unilaterally altered by the executive branch, requiring action from within the state itself.
The dispute marks the latest point of friction between New Mexico officials and the federal administration. Earlier in August 2026, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed a lawsuit against the administration over its refusal to release federal files concerning the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s former Zorro Ranch property near Santa Fe, according to Daily Mail. Torrez’s office argues that withheld redactions obstruct an ongoing state investigation into alleged victim trafficking at the desert estate.
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