US President Donald Trump proposed changing the name of the state of New Mexico to “New America,” in the context of a campaign that he began first by adopting the name “America’s Gulf” for the Gulf of Mexico, and finally by calling Lake Ontario the name “America’s Lake.”
This proposal came as part of a series of posts by Trump on his “Truth Social” social media platform, some of which were accompanied by photos and videos produced by artificial intelligence in which he appears changing a billboard on the side of the road. He says: “Many people have suggested changing the name of the state of New Mexico, one of the most fraudulent states ever, to New America,” so that it becomes “more famous and more beautiful for the people of that potentially amazing state.”
Another post showed a map of New Mexico with the word “Mexico” crossed out and replaced by the word “America.” He then added seven more posts of maps that similarly described New Mexico as "New America." It was not immediately clear what prompted Trump's comments about renaming New Mexico.
Although Trump can use his executive authority to rename bodies of water and other geographic features, he lacks the authority to rename New Mexico or other states. This will likely require action from the state itself and Congress. But the US president could order federal agencies to refer to New Mexico under a new name.
The Republican candidate for Congress in New Mexico's 2nd District, Greg Cunningham, declined to comment on Trump's posts. On Monday, his campaign issued a statement attacking Democrats “for trying to distract voters from their terrible record by focusing on what the president posts on social media.”
This came after Democratic lawmakers in New Mexico, who hold the governor's office and all five of the state's seats in Congress, immediately denounced Trump's statements.
Representative Melanie Stansbury wrote, “The name New Mexico is not up for discussion,” asking, “Why does the president spend his time making memes and harassing the people of our state, when inflation is through the roof, gas prices are sky high, people cannot afford food, health care, and housing, and he has dragged our country into an illegal war in the Middle East that has claimed the lives of American service members, injured hundreds of soldiers, and killed thousands of civilians?”
Trump's posts about renaming New Mexico also came amid a wave of more than 60 other posts that included mockery of political rivals and surreal pictures of Trump appearing to be in a miserable environment.
Trump posted the phrase, “Give them nightmares,” along with a photo of himself surrounded by robots while fires burned in the background. He also posted a picture of himself as the famous wrestler Hulk Hogan, with a picture of his head instead of Iran, and pictures of himself with the first US President George Washington, including hosting Washington in the Oval Office, and a cartoon mocking Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney as “the governor,” in reference to Trump’s assertion that Canada should be an American state.
The White House did not respond to questions about what prompted Trump's wave of posts, some of which were amplified by the accounts of the administration and political allies.
Trump intensified his posts on Monday with more than 20 other posts mocking his rivals, sharing “memes,” and celebrating his presidency.
“Happy Labor Day to everyone, including the far-left lunatics, communists, and Democrats who will do everything possible to destroy our country,” he wrote in a letter distributed by the White House. He added: “These deranged people, after fighting for ten years, must finally admit that your favorite president (me!) knows how to win!”
The Icelandic Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that it had summoned the US ambassador after President Donald Trump published a map that appeared to show the island as part of the United States.
The ministry said in a statement, “Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrín Gunnarsdottir summoned the US ambassador on Monday to deliver a clear message that the photo was completely inappropriate.”
On Monday, Trump posted on social media a picture containing a map that showed Canada, Greenland, Mexico, and Iceland in the colors of the American flag, while he called them all “The United States of America,” without attaching any comment to it.
Iceland is located at the entrance to the North Pole, and has not had any armed forces since its independence in 1944. This makes it dependent on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and a bilateral agreement it concluded with the United States in 1951 to maintain its security.
Trump's repeated threats to seize Greenland, the autonomous Danish territory located less than 300 kilometers (185 miles) from it, as well as the trade confrontation he started with Canada, have raised concerns in Iceland.
