President Donald Trump teased the idea of changing New Mexico to “New America” in a Truth Social post.
Trump shared a map of New Mexico with an “X” running through the word “Mexico,” and the word “America,” written underneath.
Trump is no stranger to changing landmarks. During his second term, he changed “Gulf of Mexico” to Gulf of America, and reverted the name Mt. Denali back to Mt. McKinley after it was changed under the Obama administration.
Other attempts at name changes have backfired for the president, such as trying to add his name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts before a judge ordered his name to be removed.
More recently, Trump signed an executive order directing the body of water known as Lake Ontario to be renamed Lake America amid tensions with Canada over tariffs. The rift between countries increased after Canada backed out of a deal. Google and Apple have both made changes accommodating the president’s order.
The president posted an AI video of himself on Truth Social, where he was seen kicking over a “Welcome to Lake Ontario” sign and replacing it with one reading “Welcome to Lake America,” with the YMCA theme song in the background.
Meanwhile, apps like MapQuest have surged to the No. 1 spot on Apple after refusing to change both Lake Ontario and the Gulf of Mexico to Trump’s new names.
While there’s been no official order from Trump to change the name of New Mexico, it’s also unclear how such an order would play out. Trump’s orders only affect the U.S. Government; meanwhile, private companies, foreign governments, and international bodies can choose whether to adopt such policies. States are also subject to their own constitutions.