New Mexico leaders reject Trump 'New America' rename bid

New Mexico's Democratic governor on Monday rejected President Donald Trump's social media campaign to rechristen the state "New America." Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham declared the centuries-old name "isn't up for debate" as bipartisan officials warned the identity is not up for negotiation.

Social media posts

Trump posted several images on Truth Social over the weekend depicting the state as "New America," including an AI-generated picture showing him placing a new sign over a "Welcome to New Mexico" marker. "Many people suggested changing the name of New Mexico, one of the great vote cheating states of all time, to NEW AMERICA," Trump wrote Sunday, according to NBC News.

Bipartisan rejection

Lujan Grisham dismissed the proposal on US social media company X, writing: "While the White House wastes time coloring on maps, Nuevo Mexico is busy doing the work." Republican gubernatorial nominee Gregg Hull also rejected the idea, stating the state's identity "is not up for negotiation."

Democratic Senator Martin Heinrich vowed on X to always use the state's actual name alongside "The Gulf of Mexico, Lake Ontario, New Mexico," while Representative Melanie Stansbury said: "Our state's name carries generations of history, culture, and family—and it belongs to us. We're New Mexicans. Period." Senator Ben Ray Lujan added: "It's New Mexico, always has been and always will be. Just like how you'll always be a sinvergüenza and corrupt," using the Spanish word for scoundrel.

Constitutional barriers

The president cannot unilaterally rename a US state. New Mexico's name is established in its state constitution, meaning voters would have to approve a constitutional amendment to change it. Trump has previously ordered federal agencies to use new names for geographic features, including renaming the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America" and Denali as "Mount McKinley."