Trump wants New Mexico to change its name. Here’s why he can’t rename it

Trump wants New Mexico to change its name. Here's why he can't rename it.

Key points

• Contributing: Joey Garrison, Kinsey Crowley, Fernando Cervantes Jr., Maria Francis, Daniel Borunda, Emily R.
• The name of New Mexico dates back to the 1500s when the region was named Nuevo México by Spanish settlers.
• New Mexico was an incorporated territory of the United States until becoming the 47th state in 1912.
• "New Mexico should immediately change its name to New America, " the president wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday, Oct.
• Trump restored Fort Liberty's former name, Fort Bragg, and changed the nation's highest peak from Denali back to Mount McKinley.

Trump wants New Mexico to change its name. Here's why he can't rename it. Saman Shafiq USA TODAY. Trump proposes renaming New Mexico as 'New America' on social media.

President Donald Trump sparked backlash after sharing social media posts suggesting New Mexico be renamed "New America."

President Donald Trump is once again proposing New Mexico change its name to "New America."

"New Mexico should immediately change its name to New America, " the president wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday, Oct. 19. "We are not Mexico, we are the United States of America!"

Trump argued the new "name would add great value and prestige to the State, " and that "home values and incomes would rise, and you would be even prouder while saluting our beautiful American flag!"

Trump's latest call to change the name of the state comes a little over a month after he shared maps on social media depicting New Mexico as "New America."

Notably, the president has previously pushed to rebrand other parts of the United States that share names with foreign countries, ordering the Gulf of Mexico to be renamed the Gulf of America and Lake Ontario be renamed Lake America. Additionally, Trump restored Fort Liberty's former name, Fort Bragg, and changed the nation's highest peak from Denali back to Mount McKinley. New Mexico's name dates back centuries.

Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Luján fired back at the president's suggestion in his own social media post, saying the state's name "dates back hundreds of years, long before the United States even existed."

"It carries generations of history, culture, and rich traditions that continue to shape who we are, " Luján remarked in an Oct. 19 post on X. "We are New Mexicans. We're proud of our name, proud of our home, and we're keeping both. Long after Donald Trump is out of office, we'll still be New Mexico."

For context, the name of New Mexico dates back to the 1500s when the region was named Nuevo México by Spanish settlers. That makes its name older than the United States, even coming before Mexico gained independence from Spain, according to previous USA TODAY reporting.

And it wasn't just Democrats who criticized Trump's idea – even a Republican running for Congress in the state dismissed it.

"It's not something that's legislatively possible, so nothing's going to change, " Greg Cunningham, who is running against U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, of Las Cruces, for the House remarked in a debate on Oct. 16. Can Trump rename New Mexico?

While Trump and the White House have repeatedly promoted the change online, a president cannot simply rename a state through a presidential executive order, USA TODAY previously documented. New Mexico's name is established in the state's constitution and cannot be changed by a presidential decree, making it different from Trump's previous renaming efforts.

New Mexico's constitution explicitly states the name of the state, and changing that name would require the state to do so, with leaders moving through their own process. Can a president change the name of other states?

Generally, no. A president can direct federal agencies to employ specific names for geographic features under federal jurisdiction or for federal administration purposes. Nevertheless, states have their own constitutions, governments and legal processes.

That distinction is why legal experts say New Mexico and other states are fundamentally different from recent federal renaming efforts.

Contributing: Joey Garrison, Kinsey Crowley, Fernando Cervantes Jr., Maria Francis, Daniel Borunda, Emily R. Condon / USA TODAY NETWORK.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7. Share your feedback to support improve our site!

For now, trump wants New Mexico to change its name. Heres why he cant remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.