U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested the state of New Mexico’s name should be changed to “New America.” On Sunday, he posted a map of New Mexico on his social media platform, Truth Social, with the word “Mexico” crossed out in red and “America” written below it.
A few days earlier, Trump signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America.”
The image Trump posted on Truth Social was later reposted by the White House on its X account, without any explanation.
The White House has not announced any initiative to change New Mexico’s name. CNN has contacted the White House for more details.
As president, Trump has the authority to change geographic place names listed in the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), which includes bodies of water. But he does not have the constitutional authority to legally change a state’s name. Renaming a state would require going through that state’s own internal process.
Trump signed the executive order renaming Lake Ontario in late August. Earlier, on his first day back in office in January 2025, he signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”
Responding to Trump’s post, New Mexico’s Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham accused him of trying to distract Americans’ attention. She stressed there is no room for debate over New Mexico’s name.
On Google Maps, Lake Ontario sits on the U.S.-Canada border. It has now been renamed Lake America.
In a post on X on Sunday, Lujan Grisham also said, “While the president tries to distract Americans from his disastrous war in Iran, gas prices keep climbing. While the White House wastes time coloring in maps, New Mexico is getting on with its work.”
New Mexico’s Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich also protested Trump’s post. On X, he said, “I will always call three things by their real names — the Gulf of Mexico, Lake Ontario, and New Mexico.”
The history of New Mexico’s name dates back to the 16th century, predating the founding of the United States as a country.
Trump has frequently expressed a desire to rename various geographic places as a show of presidential power. He moved to rename Lake Ontario amid an ongoing, tense trade war with Canada.
Trump has also expressed a desire to rename the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.