Since President Trump started his second term in office, he has repeatedly altered place names to "expand territory" on maps. Now, Trump even begins to feel uncomfortable with some place names within the United States.
On September 6 local time, Trump posted a picture on the "Truth Social" platform. On the map of New Mexico, the word "Mexico" in the state's name was crossed out and replaced with "United States". Thus, the state was re-named "New American State". The White House later shared this picture on the X platform. Neither of the two posts came with any explanatory text.
Regarding the photos released by Trump, Michelle Grisham, the Democratic governor of New Mexico, told Fox News in the United States that there is no dispute over the name of New Mexico. “This place was called this name even before it became part of the United States.”
Grisham accused Trump of trying to distract the country’s attention, failing to address issues such as rising gasoline and food prices, reduced access to healthcare services, and the heavy burden of housing costs that many American families face.
The term "New Mexico" as a place name appeared earlier than the establishment of the state of New Mexico in the United States. Spanish explorers began using "Nuevo México" to refer to this region since the late 16th century. After the Mexican-American War, the region was taken over by the United States in 1848, and the name "New Mexico" was adopted. In 1912, it officially became a state of the United States.
Cable News Network (CNN) noted that although Trump has the authority to change the names of geographical features such as waterways in the United States Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), the U.S. Constitution does not grant him the power to change state names. Such procedures can only be carried out within individual states.
As of now, the White House has not announced any plans to change the name of New Mexico, nor has it commented on the photo released by Trump.
Previously, in January 2025, Trump signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “United States Gulf”, which sparked strong opposition and dissatisfaction from Mexico. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto emphasized that the name “Gulf of Mexico” has long been recognized by the international community.
Recently, after the trade negotiations between the United States and Canada broke down, Trump signed an executive order on August 27 to rename Lake Ontario along the US-Canada border as "Lake United States", which sparked criticism from Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford among other political figures emphasized that no matter how the external environment changes, Canadians will always use the name "Lake Ontario".
