President Donald Trump has again moved to change the names used on the US map, posting a new image that replaces “Mexico” with “America” on New Mexico.
Over the holiday weekend, Trump shared a map on Truth Social on Sunday afternoon showing the southwestern state bordering Mexico. In the post, the word “Mexico” was crossed out and substituted with “America”, continuing a pattern of renaming geographic features that he has promoted through executive action and public demands.
New Mexico Map Post
The idea of “New America” echoes an earlier order in Trump’s second term that altered place names across North America. In January 2025, he issued an executive order titled “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness”.
In that order, the president changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. He also renamed Denali, the highest peak in North America, back to Mount McKinley in Alaska.
Donald Trump via Truth Social
Lake Ontario Renaming in Trade War
Trump’s renaming campaign has also included the Great Lakes region. Late last month, he signed an executive order changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America. The move came as tensions in trade talks with Canada escalated.
Trump has previously argued that Canada should become the United States’ 51st state, a position he repeated in comments to Fox News. “They think they’re a state, but they’re not a state,” he said. “Why should we be subsidizing Canada?”
Despite his repeated claims about reshaping the map, the latest New Mexico effort is expected to draw criticism.
Reactions From Apps and Critics
On X, Republicans Against Trump responded quickly to Trump’s suggested New Mexico relabeling, writing: “WTF is wrong with him?”
When Trump pushed for Lake Ontario to be renamed, MapQuest said it would not update its navigation app. The company wrote on X that it was “not changing it”. MapQuest later reported that its app rose in rankings on the App Store, with general manager Doug Berger saying the company had taken a similar approach to its handling of the Gulf of Mexico name change. He said “hundreds of thousands of people” had signalled support by downloading the app.
Apple and Google, however, updated their maps for US users, switching Lake Ontario to Lake America, as they had done when Trump previously demanded the Gulf of Mexico be renamed the Gulf of America.
Other reactions have been mixed. Conservative journalist Eric Daugherty wrote on X: “This man is on a roll!”
Trump’s ambitions to remake place names appear to extend beyond the boundaries of the United States. Shortly after the New Mexico post, he shared an image of the moon on Truth Social with the caption: “The moon is ours.”
Legacy and Changes Across Washington
During his second term, Trump has focused heavily on legacy, including major renovations around Washington, DC, as well as efforts connected to his branding. These include updates to the White House, such as a large and costly ballroom, and changes more broadly across the capital.
He has also put his name and face on buildings in Washington. Most notably, his name was placed on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, but a federal judge ordered it removed, and it was taken down.
In public opinion polling, many Americans have indicated that they do not believe he is prioritising pressing issues. A CNN poll conducted by research firm SSRS and published in late July found that 73% of Americans say Trump has not paid enough attention to the country’s most important problems.
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7 September 2026
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