While Waging War and Wrecking Economy, Trump's Focused On... Renaming New Mexico
"New Mexico is New Mexico, and you lost here three times because you're corrupt and don't care about working people," said Deb Haaland.
As Americans suffer from an affordability crisis exacerbated by President Donald Trump's policies, both foreign and domestic, critics on Monday excoriated him for his inane pursuit of changing the name of yet another geographical place—this time, one of the nation's most culturally distinct states.
"New Mexico should immediately change its name to New America," Trump wrote on his Truth Social network. "We are not Mexico, we are the United States of America! The name would add great value and prestige to the State!"
"Home Values and Incomes would rise," the president baselessly contended, "and you would be even prouder while saluting our beautiful American Flag! Maybe even the Crooked Elections, that New Mexico is known for, would become honest again!"
Americas: Please do literally anything about affordability. I can't afford groceries. Trump: WE SHOULD RENAME NEW MEXICO TO NEW AMERICA!!
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— Mike Nellis (@mikenellis.bsky.social) October 19, 2026 at 12:57 PM
New Mexico has no such reputation, despite Republican electors signing a certificate purporting to cast the state's electoral votes for Trump in 2020—former President Joe Biden won there by double digits—and GOP commissioners in Otero County refusing to certify the June 2022 primary results over unfounded concerns about voting machines.
Trump's desire to rename New Mexico "New America" is curious, given that both old and New Mexico—as well as everywhere from Greenland to Tierra del Fuego—are part of the Americas.
The president has already renamed the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario—though the new names aren't recognized internationally—and has also floated changing the name of the Strait of Hormuz to the Trump Strait, even as the military under his command has been unable to gain control of the vital waterway amid the increasingly protracted US-Israeli war of choice against Iran.
"It's like we're living in a never-ending 'South Park' episode," Zeteo media columnist Justin Baragona said Monday on Bluesky, referring to the long-running Comedy Central adult animation show, whose upcoming season will be renamed "South America" in a satirical send-up of not only Trump's rechristening spree, but also the complicity of tech titans like Google and Apple that all too readily comply with the president's whims.
Your President of the United States, folks. Laser-focused on the issues that matter to Americans and on the myriad major problems around the globe.
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— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social) October 19, 2026 at 12:15 PM
US Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM)—who recently led New Mexico's congressional delegation in calling on Apple and Google to keep the state's current name on their maps—said Monday on social media that "New Mexico’s name dates back hundreds of years, long before the United States even existed."
"It carries generations of history, culture, and rich traditions that continue to shape who we are," he added. "We are New Mexicans. We’re proud of our name, proud of our home, and we’re keeping both. Long after Donald Trump is out of office, we’ll still be New Mexico."
Critics of Trump's policies skewered the president's priorities amid a cost-of-living crisis he said he'd fix upon returning to office and a war of choice he promised never to wage.
"People are struggling to afford housing, to pay their electric bills, to fill their tank with gas, and to buy groceries. The Mad King’s solution: Rename New Mexico as New America and your income will magically go up," California state Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat running to fill retiring Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) House seat, said on social media.
Former US Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a Democrat running for governor of New Mexico, said, "New Mexico is New Mexico, and you lost here three times because you're corrupt and don't care about working people."
"You should be focused on ending this war, stopping these tariffs, and making things less expensive," she added, "not renaming our state."
