New Mexico leaders reject Trump’s New America proposal

New Mexico officials from both parties are rejecting President Donald Trump’s social media push to rename the state “New America,” saying the state’s identity is not open to debate and any change would require voters to amend the state constitution.

Trump posted a series of images on Truth Social showing New Mexico relabeled as “New America,” including an AI-generated image Sunday of him placing a “New America” label over a “Welcome to New Mexico” sign while doing his signature dance. “Many people suggested changing the name of New Mexico, one of the great vote cheating states of all time, to NEW AMERICA,” Trump wrote. “So much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State. Wow, I Love It!!!”

He continued posting images Monday depicting the state as New America, drawing sharp responses from New Mexico’s Democratic governor, congressional delegation and candidates for governor — as well as the Republican nominee seeking the governorship.

“New Mexico’s name isn’t up for debate — it’s been ours since before the United States existed,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, wrote on X alongside an image of the state labeled “New Mexico.”

She accused Trump of trying to divert attention from other issues. “While the President tries to distract Americans from his disastrous war in Iran, the price of gas —and everything else — keeps rising,” she wrote, adding that under Democratic leadership the state is “providing families with free childcare and college, protecting access to health care and investing in housing.”

“While the White House wastes time coloring on maps, Nuevo México is busy doing the work,” Lujan Grisham wrote.

Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the Democratic nominee for governor, posted a video from a campaign event and wrote, “I will always stand up for what makes New Mexico, New Mexico.” In the video, Haaland referred to her Republican opponent, Gregg Hull. “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,” she said. “I’m running to be the governor of New Mexico.”

Hull also rejected Trump’s suggestion. “New Mexico does not need a new name,” he said in a statement reported by local outlets and Santa Fe Public Radio. “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 it is today. That identity is not up for negotiation.”

The federal government cannot unilaterally change a state’s name. New Mexico’s name appears in the opening lines of its state constitution: “The name of this state is New Mexico …” Any renaming would require New Mexico voters to approve a constitutional amendment through a ballot measure.

The dispute follows other Trump moves to rename geographic locations. In January 2025, on his first day back in office, he signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” and renamed Denali, North America’s highest peak, as “Mount McKinley.” NBC News reported that the Denali move angered Alaska lawmakers, including Republicans. More recently, amid U.S.-Canada trade tensions, Trump signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America.”

New Mexico’s Democratic senators also dismissed Trump’s posts. “Three things I will always call by their actual names … The Gulf of Mexico, Lake Ontario, New Mexico,” Sen. Martin Heinrich wrote.

“It’s New Mexico, always has been and always will be,” Sen. Ben Ray Luján wrote, adding that Trump would “always be a sinvergüenza and corrupt,” using the Spanish word for scoundrel.

Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., was equally blunt. “Oh hell no!” she posted on X. “Our state’s name carries generations of history, culture, and family—and it belongs to us. We’re New Mexicans. Period.” In a separate video cited by The Guardian, Stansbury said from the banks of the Rio Grande: “WE ARE NOT CHANGING OUR NAME!”