President Donald Trump suggested renaming the state of New Mexico to "New America" on September 6, 2026, via social media [1, 2, 3]. He posted that many people had proposed changing the state's name and described "New America" as "more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State" [1]. The White House shared an image altering New Mexico's name by crossing out "Mexico" and replacing it with "America" [1, 2, 3].
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham strongly rejected the renaming proposal, stating, "It isn’t up for debate – it’s been ours since before the United States existed" [1]. She accused Trump of attempting to distract Americans from larger issues like soaring gas prices [1].
Some U.S. media reports traced the renaming idea to an internet hoax or prank [1, 2, 3]. There is no official indication that the administration plans to formally pursue the name change [4, 5].
The suggestion follows Trump's earlier renaming actions. On January 20, 2025, he signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America," which Mexico officially rejected [1, 3, 4]. On August 27, 2026, during trade tensions with Canada, he renamed Lake Ontario as "Lake America," a change Canada also rejected [1, 3, 4]. Last week, Trump suggested renaming the Strait of Hormuz as the "Trump Strait" but later implied he was not serious [1, 3, 6].
New Mexico became a U.S. territory after 1848 and achieved statehood on January 6, 1912. Its name dates back to Spanish usage from the late 1500s [4, 5, 7].
No formal steps toward renaming New Mexico have been announced, leaving the proposal a social media statement without official action as of September 7, 2026.
