U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed changing the name of New Mexico to ‘New America (New America)’. This follows his recent executive order to rename Ontario Lake to ‘America Lake (Lake America)’ amid tariff conflicts with Canada, marking another attempt to alter place names.
Trump posted a composite video on the social media platform Truth Social on the 6th, superimposing ‘America’ over ‘Mexico’ on a New Mexico state sign. In the video, he changes the sign to ‘New America’ and dances to the Village People’s ‘Y.M.C.A.’—a song he has frequently used since his election campaign. He stated, “Many people have proposed changing the name of New Mexico, one of the states with the largest voter fraud in history, to ‘New America,’ and it is a much more dignified and beautiful name for the people of that state.”
Earlier that day, Trump also shared an image of the New Mexico state map with a red X over ‘Mexico’ and ‘America’ written below. The White House’s official X, formerly Twitter, also posted the image.
Trump previously signed an executive order on August 27 to rename Ontario Lake to ‘America Lake’ amid escalating tariff disputes with Canada. At the time, he claimed Canadian officials had “treated the U.S. very badly.” Separately, on January 1 of last year, he signed an order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the ‘Gulf of America.’ These name changes are domestic U.S. measures without international legal effect.
However, unlike lakes or gulfs, a president cannot unilaterally rename a state via executive order. Changing a state’s name requires legislative approval at both federal and state levels. Fox News reported that the White House has not confirmed whether it will pursue the renaming and that no official process has begun.
The name New Mexico predates U.S. independence. It originated from the Spanish colonial-era term ‘Nuevo México’ (New Mexico) used since the late 16th century. The name remained after the region became U.S. territory in 1848 and when it became the 47th state in 1912.
Democratic politicians in New Mexico swiftly condemned the proposal. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham stated, “The name New Mexico has belonged to us since before the existence of the United States and is not a subject of debate.” Congressman Gabe Vasquez added, “They cannot erase our name, history, and culture.” In contrast, Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah called the name ‘New America’ “kind of catchy.”
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