President Trump posted a map on Truth Social labeling New Mexico as “New America,” picking up on a debunked online hoax that circulated widely across social media platforms.
The map Trump shared showed a large “X” crossed over the word “Mexico” in the state’s name, with “America” written below it in its place.
The official White House account amplified the post by resharing the image to social platform X, giving the renamed map significantly broader reach.
Fact-checking website Snopes traced the origin of the hoax to an X user who posted a fake executive order claiming Trump had renamed the state, with the post going viral on September 1.
Snopes debunked the report entirely, noting that the original claim came from a satirical social media account and had no basis in any actual presidential action.
Trump later weighed in with his own commentary on the idea, writing in a post Sunday evening that many people had suggested the change and that the new name carried more prestige.
Trump wrote, “Many people suggested changing the name of New Mexico, one of the great vote cheating states of all time, to NEW AMERICA. So much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State.”
The episode follows a pattern of Trump-era landmark renamings, including his recent order to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America” as part of his broader trade dispute with Canada.
Trump previously signed an order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” a move that drew significant attention and criticism from Democratic lawmakers and foreign governments alike.
Democratic members of Congress representing New Mexico responded quickly and sharply to Trump’s Sunday post, making clear they had no intention of accepting any such change.
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) posted on X, “Three things I will always call by their actual names. The Gulf of Mexico. Lake Ontario. New Mexico.”
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) responded with equal bluntness, writing simply, “Oh hell no!” in her own post reacting to the president’s remarks.
The renaming push, even if rooted initially in a hoax, fits squarely within Trump’s broader strategy of using landmark name changes as a political and cultural statement during his second term.
