Trump demands New Mexico be renamed 'immediately', triggering chaos for Google and Apple

President Donald Trump sure loves a good renaming ceremony, but going far beyond rebranding Mount Denali as Mount McKinley, or calling Palm Beach International Airport the President Donald J. Trump International Airport, he's now set his sights on New Mexico.

We've already seen the President of the United States demand the Gulf of Mexico change its name to the Gulf of America, while he more recently suggested the Pacific Ocean switch it up to the Ocean of the Americas.

This has caused an uproar among many, but as you can imagine, his mentions of New Mexico being changed to 'New America' could be his most controversial geographical headache yet.

Why is Donald Trump pushing New Mexico name change?

Donald Trump has already joked about changing New Mexico to New America, sharing a graphic on Truth Social that showed off a potential rebrand. He's now back to hammer home this message, and on October 19, defiantly wrote: "New Mexico should immediately change its name to New America. We are not Mexico, we are the United States of America!"

While many are sure to say this is part of Trump's apparent vendetta against Mexico, he claims the name change will increase home values and income in New Mexico, adding: "You would be even prouder while saluting our beautiful American Flag!"

He closed by taking a swipe at the fact he's the first Republican incumbent to ever consecutively lose New Mexico in an election: "Maybe even the Crooked Elections, that New Mexico is known for, would become honest again!"

There was immediate backlash against the suggestion that New Mexico could be forced to change its name via executive order.

Self-described progressive Democrat Ben Ray Luján clapped back, saying: "New Mexico’s name dates back hundreds of years, long before the United States even existed. It carries generations of history, culture, and rich traditions that continue to shape who we are.

“We are New Mexicans. We’re proud of our name, proud of our home, and we’re keeping both. Long after Donald Trump is out of office, we’ll still be New Mexico."

Elsewhere, New Mexico gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland suggested that the president "should be focused on ending this war, stopping these tariffs, and making things less expensive–not renaming our state.”

Why would New America cause chaos for map companies?

Notably, it causes chaos for map companies, with Trump supposedly reaching out directly to Apple to ensure Lake Ontario was dubbed Lake America on Apple Maps. Given the unpopularity of these stunts, we previously saw MapQuest soar to the top of the Apple App Store as customers looked for a mapping service that wasn't bowing to the POTUS.

The implied political pressure would likely lead to further fragmentation among the various mapping services. Trump doesn't have the constitutional authority to rename a state, requiring state-level processes and voter approval.

Geographical organizations like the National Geographic Society tend to keep to traditional names until a formal domestic or international consensus is reached. As Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has repeatedly rejected the New America pitch, don't expect anything to change on official national atlases or standard educational maps.

In September 2026, New Mexico’s congressional delegates sent a letter imploring Apple and Google not to use New America on their maps, writing: “Unfortunately, this is not the first time President Trump has attempted to unilaterally rename a place.

“In each case, your companies soon updated your mapping services to reflect the President’s whims."

Two of the Big Five of tech were told that their 'concessions' to the Trump administration are “disappointing but unsurprising," pointing to contributions to Trump's White House ballroom project, and Google settling with Trump over his YouTube suspension in the aftermath of the January 6 Capitol attack.

In reality, most mapping services will use both terms to avoid user drop-off. Searching something like "Albuquerque, New America" or "Santa Fe, New Mexico" will have to include the exact geographical coordinates.

We've seen services use dual-labeling, meaning Google and Apple could include "New Mexico (New America)" as a way to appease President Trump. Either way, don't expect New Mexico residents or others around the world to take this one lying down.