White House Draws Backlash After Pushing Trump’s 1-State ‘New America’ Rename

2 articles · Updated · The Daily Beast · Sep 7

Official White House promotion of Donald Trump’s proposal to rename New Mexico “New America” triggered a wave of mockery on X, turning the post into a fresh political liability.
Trump, 80, first floated the idea on Truth Social with an altered map, then doubled down with an AI video and a post attacking New Mexico as a state he has never carried.
Critics cast the rename push as distraction politics, with the Lincoln Project citing an NBC News poll showing Trump’s independent approval at 24% and lawmakers tying the stunt to war and cost-of-living pressures.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Sen. Ben Ray Luján rejected the idea outright, saying the state’s name predates the United States and is not up for debate.
The episode extends Trump’s broader renaming drive after last week’s federal switch from Lake Ontario to “Lake America,” even as economic concerns dominate voter priorities before the midterms.