NewsNoticias Tampa Bay (Univision)September 7, 2026Hillsborough County
President Trump suggests renaming New Mexico to 'New America' on social media
Photo: Noticias Tampa Bay (Univision)
President Donald Trump published an altered map on social media suggesting the state of New Mexico be renamed 'New America', prompting pushback from state leadership. The White House shared the image without accompanying explanations or a formal announcement of a name change effort. New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham responded by stating that the state's name is not open for debate and accused the administration of attempting to distract the public.
Read the full story at Noticias Tampa Bay (Univision)Why It Matters
The federal executive branch holds authority over certain geographic features in federal databases, but lacks constitutional authority to unilaterally alter a U.S. state's name.
Key Facts
- President Donald Trump suggested renaming New Mexico to 'New America' in a Truth Social post featuring an altered map.
- The image showed the word 'México' crossed out in red and replaced with 'América'.
- The White House shared the image on X without formal announcements or explanations.
- Legal specialists state the president lacks constitutional authority to unilaterally change a state's name.
- The president retains authority to modify geographic feature names within the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
- Executive orders were previously used to rename the Gulf of Mexico to 'Golfo de América' in January 2025 and Lake Ontario to 'Lake America' last month.
- New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham stated the state's name is not up for debate and accused the administration of distraction.
- Department of Interior data shows New Mexico's name dates back to the 16th century, prior to the founding of the United States.
Who's Mentioned
locationGolfo de México“Renamed as 'Golfo de América' by executive order in January 2025”locationAmérica“Proposed new name for the state”OrganizationDepartamento del Interior“Source of data regarding the historical dating of New Mexico's name”PersonDonald Trump“President of the United States who suggested renaming New Mexico”PersonMichelle Lujan Grisham“Democratic Governor of New Mexico who responded to the social media post”locationCanadá“Country involved in trade tensions surrounding recent executive actions”locationLago Ontario“Renamed as 'Lago América' late last month”locationIrán“Reference to an ongoing conflict mentioned by Governor Lujan Grisham”OrganizationCasa Blanca“Shared the altered map image on the social network X”locationNuevo México“U.S. state targeted by the social media map alteration”