New Mexico name change idea rejected after Trump post

US President Donald Trump suggested on Sunday that New Mexico could be renamed “New America,” and the state’s governor quickly rejected the idea.

Trump wrote on social media that “many people” had suggested changing the state’s name and called “New America” more “prestigious and beautiful.” The White House also reposted an image showing “Mexico” crossed out and replaced with “America.”

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham told Fox News that the name “isn't up for debate” and said it had belonged to the state since before the United States existed. She also accused Trump of trying to distract Americans from issues including gas prices.

The suggestion follows other Trump-backed naming proposals. He signed an order days earlier to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” a move Canada has rejected. In 2025, he renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” which Mexico rejected.