‘New Mexico is and always will be New Mexico’: New Mexico leaders reject viral map suggesting state name change
By Simone Garber
Click here for updates on this story
NEW MEXICO (KOAT) — New Mexico leaders are responding to a viral map shared on Truth Social by President Donald Trump over the weekend, which replaced the word “Mexico” in the state’s name with “America.”
“New Mexico is and always will be New Mexico,” said U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez. “Our name, history and culture are not up for debate. New Mexicans know who we are, and the president doesn’t have the power to erase our identity with another ridiculous Truth Social post.”
The map aligns with Trump’s “Make America Great Again” agenda, according to KOAT political analyst Brian Sanderoff.
“That includes getting the word ‘America’ in there as much as possible,” he said.
Sanderoff explained that renaming a state is not within a president’s authority.
“If he were to issue an executive order, it’s even conceivable he might force federal agencies to use that new name, but it wouldn’t necessarily be legally binding, and it wouldn’t require that New Mexico renames itself,” he said. “And I suspect if he even tried to issue an executive order, we’d see some lawsuits the very next day in federal court.”
Democrats quickly denounced the idea. Gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland posted on X that she will “always stand up for what makes New Mexico New Mexico.”
Republican gubernatorial candidate Gregg Hull also rejected the proposed name change, sharing in a statement to KOAT that “New Mexico doesn’t need a new name, and that identity isn’t up for negotiation.”
However, not all Republicans are aligning with Democrats on the issue. Sanderoff noted the political challenge for Republican candidates.
“It does put Republican candidates in an uncomfortable position,” he said. “They don’t want to criticize the president, but yet they don’t want to defend the idea of renaming New Mexico based on prior experience with this particular president.”
Republican Greg Cunningham, who is running against Vasquez, criticized the congressman for focusing on the president’s social media posts.
In a statement to KOAT, Cunningham said that Democrats like Vasquez are “trying to distract voters from their awful record by focusing on what the president is posting on social media.”
Despite the discussion, Sanderoff said the name “New America” is unlikely to gain traction.
“Our state’s name is part of our identity — part of our culture and traditions,” he said. “So what would it mean to change our name to New America? It would be erasing our identity and cultural traditions. And that’s just not going to happen.”
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.