New Mexico Democratic leaders are aggressively pushing back on President Donald Trump’s social media posts about renaming the state of New Mexico as “New America.”
“New Mexico’s name isn’t up for debate — it’s been ours since before the United States existed,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, said in a post on X featuring an image of the state labeled with “New Mexico.” “While the President tries to distract Americans from his disastrous war in Iran, the price of gas —and everything else — keeps rising.
“Under Democratic leadership here in New Mexico, we’re providing families with free childcare and college, protecting access to health care and investing in housing,” the governor continued. “While the White House wastes time coloring on maps, Nuevo México is busy doing the work. 🌶️”
Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the Democratic nominee for governor who is vying to succeed Lujan Grisham in November, wrote on X, “I will always stand up for what makes New Mexico, New Mexico” with a video of her at a campaign event.
“The only thing I can think of think about when I see that is my opponent, because he’s a Republican, he’s running for New America,” Haaland says in the video. “I’m running to be the governor of New Mexico.”
Haaland’s GOP opponent, Gregg Hull, also rejected Trump’s suggestion.
“New Mexico does not need a new name,” Hull said in a statement, according to local news outlets. “This state carries the history of Native nations and Spanish explorers who named this land nearly five hundred years ago, and generations of families who built New Mexico into what is is today. That identity is not up for negotiation.”
Trump has prompted outrage among New Mexico Democrats and some Republicans when he posted a series of images on Truth Social depicting the state being renamed as “New America.” In an AI-generated post on Sunday, Trump is shown slapping a “New America” over a “Welcome to New Mexico” sign, as he does his signature Trump dance.
“Many people suggested changing the name of New Mexico, one of the great vote cheating states of all time, to NEW AMERICA,” Trump wrote in the post. “So much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State. Wow, I Love It!!!”
On Monday, he continued to post several more images on Truth Social, depicting New Mexico as New America.
His latest posts fit a pattern from his presidency, with Trump moving to rename other places on the map. A little more than a week ago, he signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” amid a U.S.-Canada trade war.
In January 2025, on his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.” He also renamed Denali, the highest peak in North America, as “Mount McKinley,” after the 25th president.
The move infuriated Alaska lawmakers, including those from Trump’s own party.
Of course, the president cannot unilaterally change the name of a state the way he can order the federal government to change how it refers to a mountain or a body of water in government databases and documents. The name is spelled out in the opening lines of the state’s constitution: “The name of this state is New Mexico …”
To change the name, New Mexico’s voters would need to amend the state constitution.
Both of New Mexico’s Democratic senators rejected Trump’s latest posts.
“Three things I will always call by their actual names … The Gulf of Mexico, Lake Ontario, New Mexico,” wrote Sen. Martin Heinrich.
“It’s New Mexico, always has been and always will be,” added Sen. Ben Ray Lujan. “Just like how you’ll always be a sinvergüenza and corrupt,” he added, using the Spanish word for scoundrel.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., was perhaps the most blunt of the New Mexico lawmakers:
“Oh hell no!” she posted on X. “Our state’s name carries generations of history, culture, and family—and it belongs to us. We’re New Mexicans. Period.”
