NEW MEXICO MADNESS

Trump’s ‘New America’ Fantasy Backfires Across Party Lines

Thanks for the common ground, Mr. President.

Republicans and Democrats are uniting against Donald Trump’s bid to rename New Mexico.

The 80-year-old president turned his attention Sunday from his war on Iran to propose that New Mexico be renamed “New America” on Truth Social.

“Many people suggested changing the name of New Mexico, one of the great vote cheating states of all time, to NEW AMERICA. So much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State. Wow, I Love It!!!” he wrote. Trump lost the swing state in 2016, 2020 and 2024.

The AI slop aficionado also shared a slop video of himself putting “America” over a “Welcome to New Mexico” sign before doing his trademark dance to the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.”

But in the Land of Enchantment, politicians were not taken with Trump’s proposal—even members of his own party.

“New Mexico does not need a new name,” Republican gubernatorial nominee Gregg Hull told the Albuquerque Journal on Sunday. “This state carries the history of Native nations and Spanish explorers who named this land nearly five hundred years ago, and generations of families who built New Mexico into what it is today. That identity is not up for negotiation.”

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The candidate added that he was focused on “good paying jobs, an economy and tax system that works for working families, relief from rising costs, and energy independence that puts our state in control of its own future.”

Hull’s take is aligned with the state’s outgoing Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, who accused the president in an X post of “trying to distract from his disastrous war.”

Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland also shut down Trump, emphasizing in an X post that New Mexico is “not for renaming.”

Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Luján chimed in, “It’s New Mexico, always has been and always will be.”

However, not every response was a show of unity. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, who is locked in a tight reelection race against Trump-backed Greg Cunningham, used the moment to take aim at his opponent.

“[Cunningham] has pledged himself to Trump’s agenda but New Mexico has an opportunity to elect someone who represents US, real New Mexicans - not the sellouts like Cunningham,” Vasquez wrote in a post on X.

Cunningham, who has been silent on Trump’s proposed name change, said in a statement to the Daily Beast: “Instead of fixing the poverty, crime, and failing education system they’ve caused, New Mexico Democrats like Gabe Vasquez are trying to distract voters from their awful record by focusing on what the President is posting on social media. As I’ve done throughout this entire campaign, I’m remaining focused on my plans to bring down costs for New Mexican families, tackle crime, and fix our broken education system.”

When Congress granted the Southwest area territorial status in 1850, Nuevo México, or New Mexico, had already been its name for some 270 years, according to the University of New Mexico. In 1912, when the Southwest territory officially became the 47th state, New Mexico became the oldest name used universally for any state.

Of course, the history behind New Mexico’s name is likely of little concern to the president, who has a penchant for renaming areas, even as voters say the economy and the cost of living are their top concerns.

Just last week, Trump changed the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” after negotiations with Canada over his tariffs collapsed.

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Laura EspositoBreaking News Reporter

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