US President Donald Trump has promoted the idea of renaming the state of New Mexico “New America”, posting a series of memes on social media during the Labor Day holiday as trade negotiations with Mexico intensify.
Trump shared several maps of the United States on Monday showing New Mexico relabelled as “New America”.
The posts followed comments he made on Sunday saying he had received suggestions to change the state’s name and liked the idea.
“So much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State. Wow, I Love It!!!” Trump wrote.
The proposal comes amid tense trade negotiations between the United States and Mexico, with the two countries working to resolve several outstanding issues.
Trump previously made a similar move involving Canada. Last month, he signed an order changing the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” after trade negotiations with Ottawa failed to produce a deal.
However, the US federal government does not have the authority to change the name of an individual state.
New Mexico is currently governed by Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, who has held office since Jan 1, 2019, and was re-elected in 2022.
Grisham rejected the proposal, saying the state’s name was not open for discussion.
“New Mexico’s name isn’t up for debate — it’s been ours since before the United States existed,” she said in a post on X.
