President Donald Trump indicated that he may soon change the name of the American state of New Mexico. In a post on his social network, Truth Social, this Sunday (6), he shared a new map for the country in which the territory appears with a new name: "New America." The swap appears to have the support of his cabinet members, as the official White House profile on X (formerly Twitter) subsequently reposted the same image with the name change.
However, there has been no official announcement, to date, about federal efforts or measures to rename the state. Unlike mountains, lakes, or any other territorial landmarks, a president cannot rename a state by executive order and unilaterally, according to Fox News.
It would therefore be necessary to hold a referendum and have the legislative branch of the state itself vote and approve the measure, as happened in 2020 with Rhode Island – which lost the reference to slave plantations from its name. The article also mentions the governor of New Mexico, but the original text is incomplete.
