NEW YORK, Sept 7 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump spent the early part of the Labor Day holiday posting memes on social media in support of changing the name of the state of New Mexico to ‘New America’ as tense trade negotiations with Mexico ramp up.
Trump posted several maps of the U.S. that relabeled the land area of New Mexico as New America on Monday.
The President on Sunday said he had received suggestions to change the name of the state and that he liked the idea. “So much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State. Wow, I Love It!!!”
Trump’s posts follow his decision to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America last month, after trade negotiations with Canada failed to produce a deal.
The U.S. federal government, however, has no authority to change the name of a state.
New Mexico is currently governed by Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat. She has been on the job since January 1, 2019, and was reelected in 2022.
The governor said in a post on X that “New Mexico’s name isn’t up for debate — it’s been ours since before the United States existed.”
(Reporting by Marcelo TeixeiraEditing by Nick Zieminski)
