Donald Trump has once again proposed renaming New Mexico to "New America," a suggestion that has been met with significant criticism. He took to his Truth Social platform on Monday to declare that the state "should immediately change its name to New America."
This is not the first time Trump has floated this idea. Last month, he suggested the name change on Truth Social, stating it would be "so much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State." He also shared an AI-generated video of himself dancing to the Village People's "Y.M.C.A." and a map of New Mexico with the proposed name change.
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham dismissed the proposal, questioning what policy failures Trump might be attempting to distract from. "New Mexico was New Mexico long before the United States existed and we’ll be New Mexico forevermore," she stated. She reiterated a similar sentiment from September, when she first objected to the name change idea, asserting that "New Mexico’s name isn’t up for debate — it’s been ours since before the United States existed."
New Mexico's capital is the oldest in the U.S., with an origin date of 1610, predating the United States itself.
Other New Mexico lawmakers also expressed their disapproval. Senator Ben Ray Luján, not related to the governor, wrote on social media, "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."
Deb Haaland, former interior secretary and a current New Mexico Democratic gubernatorial candidate, also objected. "New Mexico is New Mexico, and you lost here three times because you're corrupt and don't care about working people," she posted. "You should be focused on ending this war, stopping these tariffs, and making things less expensive–not renaming our state."
Others online also reacted to the proposal, with some criticizing it as a distraction and others expressing a desire to rebrand things associated with Trump. Trump's "New America" proposal is part of a pattern, as he previously suggested renaming Lake Ontario to "Lake America" and the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America."