Democrats are not amused by Trump’s plan to rebrand New Mexico
Trump proposed adding “New America” to his trifecta of newly renamed locals honoring U.S. geopolitical dominance.
Trump proposed adding “New America” to his trifecta of newly renamed locals honoring U.S. geopolitical dominance.

President Donald Trump’s latest move to update the world map with names reflecting America’s geopolitical dominance is no longer localized to waterways. Trump has run afoul of states-rights activists who say he lacks the authority.
At issues is Trump's attempt to complete a hat-trick of recent rebrandings, adding “New America” to the “Gulf of America” and “Lake America” as he escalates trade wars with Mexico and Canada, respectively.
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View on XAlthough some scoffed at the earlier measures, others pointed out that Democrat presidents have been allowed unilateral renaming power in the past over historic landmarks like Alaska’s Mount McKinley, which President Barack Obama renamed “Denali.”
President Joe Biden likewise wasn’t shy about his preferred nomenclature, backing a controversial measure from Congress that sought to wipe away the legacy of Confederate generals on some U.S. military bases, including North Carolina’s Fort Bragg.
In August, Trump announced his plan to rename the former Lake Ontario after a contentious round of talks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The move sent Canadians scrambling to update their own maps after America-run companies like Google and Apple made the switch in platforms that both countries used.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said she would refuse to recognize Trump’s new name for the lake, which provides a natural border between upstate New York and Canada.
Some foreign nations likewise indicated that they would refuse to recognize Trump’s rebranding of the former “Gulf of Mexico,” although the name has largely taken root in southern U.S. states that border it, including Florida, Texas and Louisiana. People seem to like it.
Trump’s push to rename New Mexico, however, if serious, is likely to face legal challenges from the blue state’s leadership.
The name “isn't up for debate — it's been ours since before the United States existed,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, told Fox News.
“… While the White House wastes time coloring on maps, Nuevo México is busy doing the work,” Grisham said.
Albuquerque’s KOB 4 noted that “Each state reserves the power over its name as the U.S. Constitution doesn’t explicitly give that power to the federal government.”
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