Trump suggests renaming New Mexico 'New America' — SkimNews
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- Donald Trump suggested on social media on Sunday, September 6, 2026, that New Mexico could be renamed "New America," and the White House reposted a map with "Mexico" crossed out and replaced.
- The New Mexico proposal came days after Trump signed an order renaming Lake Ontario as "Lake America" amid a trade war with Canada, which has also rejected the renaming.
- Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham told Fox News the name "isn't up for debate — it's been ours since before the United States existed" and accused Trump of trying to "distract Americans" from issues including soaring gas prices.
- Some U.S. media reports said the idea originated as an internet hoax before Trump picked it up.
- The New Mexico pitch follows Trump's first-day-in-office order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America" — rejected by Mexico — and his recent suggestion to rename the Strait of Hormuz as "Trump Strait" during the war with Iran, which he later implied was not serious.
Why it matters: Grisham's flat rejection exposes the constitutional ceiling on Trump's renaming campaign: state names predate the federal government and carry no presidential override. With Grisham explicitly tying the proposal to soaring gas prices, the pattern signals an administration using provocative rebrands to redirect attention from domestic economic pain.
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