US President Donald Trump has proposed a new name for New Mexico, suggesting that the southwestern state should be called “New America.”
Trump floated the idea on Sunday through a social media post, claiming that the proposed name would give the state a more prestigious identity.
According to him, several people had suggested replacing “New Mexico” with “New America,” a proposal he appeared to embrace enthusiastically.
The White House later joined in by sharing a graphic depicting the word “Mexico” crossed out from the state’s name and replaced with “America.”
But the proposal was immediately dismissed by New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, who maintained that the state’s historic name was not subject to negotiation.
In an interview with Fox News, Grisham said New Mexico had existed under its name before the United States itself was established.
The governor further suggested that Trump’s latest naming controversy was aimed at diverting attention from domestic concerns, particularly the rising cost of petrol.
Trump’s suggestion came amid a series of attempts by the president to alter the names of major geographical features. He recently floated “Trump Strait” as a possible new name for the Strait of Hormuz, although he later appeared to retreat from the idea.
Earlier in his second term, Trump directed that the Gulf of Mexico be referred to as the “Gulf of America” in the United States, a decision strongly opposed by Mexico.
His proposal to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America” has also met resistance from Canada.
Meanwhile, some US media reports have suggested that the New Mexico idea may have originated as an internet hoax before gaining the president’s attention.