Official: New Mexico governor fires back at Trump over renaming proposal: “The president is trying to distract Americans from his disastrous war”

Donald Trump’s suggestion that New Mexico should be renamed “New America” has quickly become a political issue in the state’s governor’s race, even though no official resolution exists.

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New Mexico’s name isn’t up for debate, it’s been ours since before the United States existed.

Trump promoted the idea Sunday night on Truth Social, praising “New America” as a more prestigious and beautiful name for what he called a potentially incredible state. His post included an edited map of New Mexico, with “Mexico” crossed out and replaced by “America.”

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham rejected the proposal immediately. “New Mexico’s name isn’t up for debate, it’s been ours since before the United States existed,” she wrote on X. She then shifted the focus to the issues she said deserved debate, including who would support working families. Lujan Grisham also accused the president of trying to distract Americans from his “disastrous war in Iran” while gasoline prices continued to soar.

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What is up for debate? Who’s showing up for working families.

The governor’s term ends on Jan. 1, 2027. The proposal could become a central theme in the campaign for her successor, with the gubernatorial election scheduled for Nov. 3 alongside the midterm elections. Democratic candidate Deb Haaland has already used Trump’s idea to attack her Republican opponent, Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull. Haaland said that when she heard Trump wanted to rename the state, she thought of Hull because he was running as a Republican for “New America,” while she was running to be governor of New Mexico. Hull had not commented on the proposal by the time of the report.

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Trump said he wants to rename New Mexico to New America and the only thing I can think of when I see that is my opponent, because he is a Republican. He is running for “New America”; I am running to be governor of New Mexico.