Michelle Lujan Grisham

President Donald Trump floated renaming New Mexico "New America" during his speech at the GOP's midterm convention in Dallas. Leticia Munoz, executive director of the Republican Party of New Mexico, brushed off the idea, saying the state needs "a new governor, not so much a new name," and characterized the suggestion as "parody" consistent with Trump's history of trolling critics.

Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham rejected the proposal earlier in the week, stating "New Mexico's name isn't up for debate — it's been ours since before the United States existed," and accused Trump of using the distraction to deflect from issues like gas prices, grocery costs, and health care access.

Trump has previously renamed Lake Ontario to "Lake America" and the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America." However, changing a state's name would face greater legal obstacles, as New Mexico's name is enshrined in its state constitution, making any such change far more complicated than renaming a body of water.