Trump slammed by US Governor after he brands her entire state 'New America'
Donald Trump has been told exactly where he can stick his latest map rebrand - after New Mexico's governor branded his suggestion a "distraction" from the issues that actually matter to families.
It comes after the president posted a map showing New Mexico relabeled as "New America," with "Mexico" crossed out and swapped for "America", just one of 34 posts he fired off on Truth Social in under an hour on Sunday.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham didn't hold back in her response, telling Fox News Digital that the state's name "isn't up for debate - it's been ours since before the United States existed."
"What is up for debate? Who's showing up for working families," she said, arguing that while the president "tries to distract Americans," families are facing higher gas and grocery prices, losing access to health care and struggling to afford a home.
Advert
She added: "Under Democratic leadership here in New Mexico, we're providing families with free childcare and college, and protecting their access to health care. While the White House wastes time coloring on maps, Nuevo México is busy doing the work."
It's not the first time Trump has taken it upon himself to redraw the map. He's already ordered the Gulf of Mexico renamed the Gulf of America, and did the same to Lake Ontario, which he rebranded Lake America in what was widely seen as a swipe at Canada amid an ongoing trade war between the two countries.
The renaming spree traces back to a January 2025 executive order titled "Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness," which also saw North America's tallest peak, Denali, reverted to its former name, Mount McKinley.
Trump has also floated the idea of Canada becoming America's 51st state, telling Fox News: "They think they're a state, but they're not a state. Why should we be subsidizing Canada?"
His previous map changes haven't gone down smoothly either. The group Republicans Against Trump slammed the Lake Ontario rename on X with a blunt: "WTF is wrong with him?" Mapping app MapQuest also refused to follow suit at the time, posting: "We're not changing it", a stance that saw its App Store ranking spike. General manager Doug Berger said the approach mirrored what they'd done with the Gulf of Mexico, insisting users simply wanted an app that "keeps the names they're familiar with." Apple and Google, on the other hand, caved by quietly switching Lake Ontario to Lake America for US users on both platforms.
Not everyone's against the New Mexico idea, though. Conservative commentator Eric Daugherty seemed delighted, posting on X: "This man is on a roll!"
Trump's rebranding instincts don't stop at Earth, either. Minutes after the New Mexico post, he shared an image of the moon with the caption: "The moon is ours."
The 80-year-old has leaned heavily into legacy-building throughout his second term, from the map controversies to a sprawling, expensive new White House ballroom and slapping his name on buildings across the capital, including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, though a federal judge later ordered his name removed.
Despite it all, a CNN poll carried out by SSRS in late July found nearly three-quarters of Americans don't believe Trump has been focused enough on the issues that matter most to them.
The same Truth Social storm also included an image of Trump's face grafted onto wrestler Hulk Hogan's body, MAGA bandana included, plus another showing Iran's borders reshaped into the outline of the president's head, as the US's war with the Middle Eastern nation passes the six-month mark.
Topics: Donald Trump, Social Media, Truth Social
Michael Carroll