Donald Trump is urging New Mexico to rename itself “New America,” claiming the switch would increase home values, raise incomes, and potentially improve elections. The New America proposal appeared in a Truth Social post on Monday, October 19, but Trump offered no formal plan for changing the state’s name.
“We are not Mexico, we are the United States of America!” Trump wrote in the post, which called for New Mexico to adopt the new name immediately.
He went further, suggesting residents would benefit financially from the change.
“The name would add great value and prestige to the State! Home Values and Incomes would rise, and you would be even prouder while saluting our beautiful American Flag!”
Trump also connected the proposed renaming to voting, writing, “Maybe even the Crooked Elections, that New Mexico is known for, would become honest again!”
Trump did not identify evidence of election misconduct or explain how renaming a state would affect its elections.
The idea is not new. Trump promoted the New America proposal over Labor Day weekend in September, sharing maps that replaced New Mexico with his preferred name. He claimed people had suggested the change and praised how it sounded. His October post renewed that push just weeks before the November 3 midterm elections.
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham rejected the suggestion in September. Reuters reported that she defended the state’s existing name and its history, making clear that it was not up for debate. The name has been used for centuries, well before New Mexico became the 47th U.S. state in 1912.
Even a Republican running for Congress in New Mexico has resisted the change. During an October PBS New Mexico interview, Greg Cunningham, whom Trump endorsed, emphasized that he was born and raised in the state and identified as a New Mexican. His response showed opposition was not limited to Democrats.
There is also a historical twist. An account preserved by the University of New Mexico from former U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman’s office says the Spanish name Nuevo México had been used for more than 270 years before the territory was formally established in 1850. The area was known as New Mexico before Mexico became an independent country in 1821.
Attempts to give the state another name are nothing new, either. The same historical account describes earlier proposals to call it Jefferson, Lincoln, Montezuma, Acoma, and even Arizona. Those efforts failed, and New Mexico kept its longtime name when it joined the United States.
The biggest barrier to Trump’s New America proposal is the state’s constitution. Article I of the New Mexico Constitution explicitly establishes the state’s name as New Mexico. Under Article XIX, a constitutional amendment would need support from a majority of all elected members in each legislative chamber, followed by approval from New Mexico voters. Trump cannot make that change on his own.
His interest in renaming places, however, has already produced federal action. On January 20, 2025, Trump signed an executive order directing the federal government to adopt Gulf of America in place of Gulf of Mexico and restore Mount McKinley as the federal name for the Alaska mountain known as Denali. Denali National Park and Preserve retained its name under that order.
He expanded that effort in August 2026 by signing another executive order directing federal agencies to use Lake America instead of Lake Ontario. The lake borders New York and Canada’s Ontario province, meaning the U.S. designation did not change what Canada officially calls it.
Google Maps adopted Lake America for users in the United States while continuing to display Lake Ontario in Canada. Canadian officials opposed the change. The dispute showed how an American federal naming decision could alter digital maps without requiring another country to follow.
New Mexico presents a different legal challenge because its state name appears in its own constitution. Axios reported that Trump could direct federal agencies to use New America, but that would not legally rename the state or require its residents, businesses, and officials to adopt it.
For now, Trump’s October 19 statement remains a demand on social media, not an enacted state name change.
