President Donald Trump has sparked a fresh controversy after suggesting that one U.S. state should be renamed “New America.”
Trump made the suggestion Sunday on Truth Social, writing that “many people” had proposed changing the state’s name. He described “New America” as a more prestigious and beautiful name and shared an image showing the word “Mexico” crossed out and replaced with “America.”
The White House later amplified the post on social media. However, there has been no executive order changing the state’s name, and the proposal does not mean an official renaming has taken place.
Unlike geographic features such as bodies of water, the president does not have the constitutional authority to unilaterally rename a state. Any actual change would require action through the state and Congress.
The proposal was quickly rejected by officials in the state, who defended its existing name and its historical and cultural significance. Democratic lawmakers, including members of the state’s congressional delegation, publicly pushed back against Trump’s suggestion.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham also rejected the idea, saying the state’s name was not up for debate. Other officials emphasized that residents identify strongly with the name and the history attached to it.
Trump’s proposal comes after a series of controversial geographic renaming efforts during his second term. He previously ordered the federal government to use “Gulf of America” instead of “Gulf of Mexico” and recently moved to have Lake Ontario referred to as “Lake America” for federal purposes.
For now, however, the state remains officially known by its current name. Trump’s latest proposal is a political suggestion rather than an actual change to the state’s legal name.