Democrats are pushing back hard against President Donald Trump’s recent suggestion to rename the state of New Mexico as “New America,” accusing him of trying to divert attention from his administration’s war in Iran and the rising cost of living, The Guardian reported.
President Trump spent Labor Day posting memes on social media, advocating for the name change as trade negotiations with Mexico intensify. On Sunday, he claimed he’d received suggestions to alter the state’s name and really liked the idea. He even wrote on his Truth Social platform, “So much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State,” adding, “Wow, I Love It!!!” It’s a bold move, that’s for sure.
Here’s the kicker, though: the US federal government actually has zero authority to change a state’s name. For any renaming to happen, New Mexico voters would need to approve an amendment to their state constitution through a ballot measure. The state is currently led by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat who has been in office since January 1, 2019, and was re-elected in 2022.
Governor Grisham wasted no time in responding; Greg Hull followed suit
Grisham took to X to make her stance clear. “New Mexico’s name isn’t up for debate – it’s been ours since before the United States existed,” she posted. “While the President tries to distract Americans from his disastrous war in Iran, gas prices keep soaring,” she wrote. “Americans are also spending more at the grocery store, losing access to health care and wondering if they’ll ever be able to afford a home.”
This isn’t an isolated incident for the administration either. After President Trump’s return to office in January 2025, the administration moved to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.” Then, in August, as trade tensions with Canada heated up, they tried to do the same with Lake Ontario, proposing to rename it “Lake America.”
New Mexico’s senior senator, Martin Heinrich, blasted the President’s recent efforts to rename geographical features via executive order. He wrote, “Three things I will always call by their actual names,” listing, “The Gulf of Mexico, Lake Ontario, New Mexico.”
His colleague in the Senate, Ben Ray Luján, echoed that strong sentiment. “It’s New Mexico, always has been and always will be,” he stated, adding that Trump will “always be a sinvergüenza” – a Spanish word for scoundrel – and “corrupt.”
Even Melanie Stansbury, one of New Mexico’s Democratic US House representatives, was incredibly resolute. She shared a video standing on the banks of the Rio Grande, which flows through the state, declaring, “WE ARE NOT CHANGING OUR NAME!” She emphasized, “New Mexico is New Mexico. We are fiercely proud of our name, our people, and our places, including this river.”
What’s truly striking is that even Greg Hull, the Republican nominee running to replace Governor Grisham (who is term-limited), has denounced the President’s suggestion. He released a statement to Santa Fe Public Radio saying, “New Mexico does not need a new name. This state carries the history of Native nations and Spanish explorers who named this land nearly five hundred years ago, and generations of families who built New Mexico into what it is today. That identity is not up for negotiation.”
Published: Sep 8, 2026 02:54 pm