Trump’s ‘New America’ push for New Mexico draws bipartisan rejection
Democrats and Republicans alike defend state name rooted in Indigenous, Spanish, and Mexican history
SANTA FE (MNTV) — President Donald Trump’s social-media campaign to rebrand New Mexico as “New America” has drawn rejection across party lines in a state whose name carries centuries of Indigenous, colonial, and Mexican history.
Trump posted AI-generated images on Truth Social depicting himself replacing a “Welcome to New Mexico” sign with “New America,” called the state one of the country’s “vote cheating states,” and claimed “New America” would be a more prestigious name.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said the state’s name predates the United States itself and accused Trump of using the stunt to distract from economic pressures like rising gas prices.
Deb Haaland, the former interior secretary now running for governor, said she would defend what makes the state distinctive.
Notably, opposition was not confined to Democrats: Republican gubernatorial candidate Gregg Hull also rejected the idea, saying the state’s identity reflects Native nations, Spanish explorers, and generations of residents.
The episode fits a broader pattern — Trump recently moved to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America” amid his confrontation with Canada — in which geographic names become tools of political messaging, asserting ownership over how a place is understood.
But it also shows the limits of that approach: unlike federal terminology, a state’s established name is not the president’s to change, and New Mexico’s leaders across party lines have made clear its history is not a slogan to be rewritten.
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