New Mexico Democratic leaders strongly rejected social media posts by Donald Trump suggesting the state be renamed “New America.” Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and congressional delegates defended the state’s centuries-old identity, noting that a state name change requires a constitutional amendment that voters would have to approve.
New Mexico Democratic leaders are pushing back against President Donald Trump’s social media posts suggesting the state of New Mexico be renamed New America.
The posts on Truth Social included an image of a map with Mexico crossed out and replaced with America, alongside an artificial intelligence video of Trump placing a label over a road sign that read Welcome to New Mexico. Trump wrote on social media that many people suggested changing the name of New Mexico, one of the great vote cheating states of all time, to NEW AMERICA and called the prospective title so much more prestigious and beautiful.
On Monday, he continued to post several more images on Truth Social, depicting New Mexico as New America.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and New Mexico Officials Respond
State and federal officials from New Mexico responded forcefully on social media. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham issued a direct statement on X regarding the historical weight of the state’s name.
New Mexico’s name isn’t up for debate — it’s been ours since before the United States existed
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico Governor
The governor also criticized the timing of the remarks as the White House focuses on geographic designations rather than economic pressures. While the President tries to distract Americans from his disastrous war in Iran, the price of gas — and everything else — keeps rising, Lujan Grisham wrote, adding that while the White House wastes time coloring on maps, Nuevo México is busy doing the work. 🌶️
Other members of the state’s congressional delegation voiced sharp opposition. Rep. Melanie Stansbury posted Oh hell no! on X, stating that the state’s name carries generations of history, culture, and family—and it belongs to us. We’re New Mexicans. Period. U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan likewise rejected the suggestion, with Heinrich listing New Mexico alongside the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario as places he will always call by their actual names. Ben Ray Lujan added, Just like how you’ll always be a sinvergüenza and corrupt, using the Spanish word for scoundrel.
Legal Reality Behind State and Federal Name Changes
While Trump previously signed executive orders directing the federal government to alter geographic designations in government databases — renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and Lake Ontario as Lake America, and renaming Denali as Mount McKinley — the president possesses no legal authority to unilaterally rename a U.S. 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.
New Mexico’s designation is explicitly codified in the opening lines of its state constitution: The name of this state is New Mexico…. Altering a state’s official name requires a constitutional amendment that New Mexico’s voters would need to amend, similar to how Rhode Island removed and Providence Plantations from its formal name following a public referendum and constitutional amendment process.
Local Campaign Reactions and Historical Roots
The debate has also entered the state’s gubernatorial race. Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the Democratic nominee for governor who is vying to succeed Lujan Grisham in November, released a video at a campaign event stating, 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, while affirming, I’m running to be the governor of New Mexico.
Gregg Hull, the GOP opponent, also distanced himself from the proposal, stating that New Mexico does not need a new name, 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, Hull said.
According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the origins of the name date back to the 16th century, when Mexicans called the territory north and west of the Rio Grande “New Mexico,” long preceding the establishment of the United States.
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