Donald Trump Sparks Backlash With ‘New America’ Name Demand
Updated 23:16 19 Oct 2026 GMT+1Published 21:52 19 Oct 2026 GMT+1
He said the move should be immediate and would increase 'patriotism'
US President Donald Trump has created a firestorm just two weeks before the midterms by demanding that the state of New Mexico be immediately renamed ‘New America’.
Taking to his Truth Social platform he said, “New Mexico should immediately change its name to New America.”
He added: “we are not Mexico, we are the United States of America!”
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Trump insisted that if this name were changed, ‘home values and incomes would rise’ and so would patriotism, reports the Daily Mail.
He then reignited the issue of voter fraud in the state saying, “Maybe even the Crooked Elections, that New Mexico is known for, would become honest again!”
Trump lost New Mexico in 2016, 2020 and 2024 with no evidence of voter fraud having been found, according to the Associated Press.
Trump demanded 'New Mexico' be changed to 'New America' (Truth Social)
Trump shared a strange AI-manipulated image last month, showing New Mexico on a map with a new name. It showed ‘Mexico’ crossed out with a red line and ‘America’ written instead.
several hours later Trump posted an AI-generated video showing him replacing ‘America’ over a ‘Welcome to New Mexico’ sign.
He previously insisted other parts of North America be rebranded – including those affecting neighbors Canada and Mexico. In particular, he ordered the renaming of Lake Ontario the Lake America and the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.
New Mexico’s Democrat Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham hit back at Trump’s rebranding demands at the time, saying: “New Mexico's name isn't up for debate - it's been ours since before the United States existed.”
She insisted the post was a way for Trump to distract the public from his war in Iran: “While the White House wastes time coloring on maps, Nuevo México is busy doing the work.”
Despite the charged rhetoric Trump has used over the issue of rebranding territories, the president does not have the executive power to rename US states, including New Mexico.
Last month, the Democrats were quick to attack Trump for his demands.
Senator Ben Ray Lujan wrote: “It's New Mexico, always has been and always will be.
“Just like how you'll always be a sinvergüenza and corrupt,” he added, calling the president in Spanish, a 'shameless person'.
Democratic Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury said: “Oh hell no! Our state's name carries generations of history, culture, and family - and it belongs to us. We're New Mexicans. Period.”
In August Trump rounded on Canada while signing an Executive Order to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America.
Trump even suggested he might change the names of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans (Photo by Alex WROBLEWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
He told reporters at the Oval office he had been thinking about the rebrand ‘for a long time’, then said, “We defend Canada for nothing, we don't get anything.
“We love the people of Canada, but their representatives aren't doing an appropriate job.”
Trump joked that the world’s oceans could be next in line for a rebrand.
“Actually, as you know, we took something called the Gulf of Mexico and we changed it, and now it's very routinely the Gulf of America,” he said.
“So, if you think about it, we have a Gulf and we have a lake. Now, all we need is an ocean. So, maybe we'll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific.”
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Featured Image Credit: (Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images)
Topics: Donald Trump