Trump shares map calling New Mexico ‘New America’, sparking fresh controversy

US President Donald Trump shared a map of New Mexico with the word Mexico crossed out and replaced with America, depicting the state as New America. The image was first posted on Truth Social over the holiday weekend, and the White House later shared it on its verified X account.

Neither post included an explanation or said whether the image reflected an actual policy proposal. Trump and the White House have not announced any formal effort to change New Mexico’s name, and a US president cannot unilaterally rename a state through executive action.

Trump’s post came days after he signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America for US federal use. That order followed a series of tariff disputes between Washington and Ottawa. Trump said he had directed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and the department to update the Geographic Names Information System to reflect the name change, and Google and Apple later updated their maps for US users accordingly.

The New Mexico post also followed Trump’s earlier executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America early in his second term. While Apple and Google updated their mapping apps to reflect Trump’s changes for US users, MapQuest refused to comply and later saw a surge in downloads.

Trump’s geographic rebranding efforts have drawn criticism from groups including Republicans Against Trump. He also posted a separate image claiming US ownership of the moon.

The name New Mexico predates the state by centuries. Spanish explorers began using Nuevo México in the late 1500s. The territory retained the name after becoming part of the United States in 1848 and later achieved statehood on 6 January 1912.

Trump’s Sunday post quickly drew attention from Democratic lawmakers, who denounced the idea of renaming the state and linked it to his earlier landmark name changes, including Lake Ontario and the Gulf of Mexico. The posts on New Mexico offered no explanation, but they added to a series of moves by Trump to recast geographic names for federal use.