Images President Donald Trump posted on social media show him in front of a picture of then-President Joe Biden wearing a Trump 2024 hat, left, and a map renaming New Mexico as “New America.” / @realDonaldTrump/Truth Social

President Donald Trump spent much of the Labor Day weekend flooding his Truth Social account with memes, AI-generated images and provocative messages, including posts suggesting New Mexico should be renamed “New America” and another declaring, “The Moon Is Ours.”

The New Mexico proposal emerged Sunday as Trump shared an image of a state map with the word “Mexico” crossed out and replaced with “America.” He later said “many people” had suggested changing the state’s name to “New America,” calling the proposed name more “prestigious and beautiful.” By Monday, Trump had shared several additional maps labeling the state “New America.”

The White House also amplified at least one of the New Mexico images through its official social media account.

The suggestion drew a swift response from New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who rejected the proposed change and emphasized the state’s longstanding identity.

“New Mexico’s name isn’t up for debate — it’s been ours since before the United States existed,” the governor wrote in response to Trump’s posts.

That history stretches back centuries. Spanish settlers were referring to the region as Nuevo México by the late 1500s. The National Park Service records that Juan de Oñate formally claimed Nueva México for Spain in 1598, more than 175 years before the Declaration of Independence. Santa Fe later became the capital of the Spanish province of Nuevo México in 1610.

Trump also does not have the authority to unilaterally change the name of a state. Unlike federal naming decisions involving geographic features, changing New Mexico’s official state name would require action beyond the presidency, including a process originating at the state level and congressional involvement. The Washington Post reported that while a president may direct federal agencies to use particular terminology, Trump cannot simply rename New Mexico by executive order.

The posts nevertheless fit a broader pattern during Trump’s second term of attaching new names to prominent geographic locations.

On his first day back in office in January 2025, Trump ordered the federal government to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.” More recently, on Aug. 27, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America.” The order instructed the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to update federal maps, documents and databases accordingly.

The New Mexico posts were only part of a much larger burst of social media activity. Trump posted dozens of messages and digitally created images over the holiday weekend, depicting himself in exaggerated political, military and fictional settings.

Among them were images showing Trump surrounded by enormous robots, appearing alongside George Washington, portrayed in wrestling-themed imagery and positioned in a futuristic command center. He also circulated maps and imagery invoking U.S. control or expansion beyond its current borders.

One of the most striking posts showed the president in a space-themed setting alongside the words, “THE MOON IS OURS.”

Trump offered no accompanying explanation indicating whether the post was intended as humor, political messaging or a statement of policy.

Legally, however, no country can claim sovereignty over the moon under the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, to which the United States is a party.

Article II of the treaty states that outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation through a claim of sovereignty, occupation or other means. The treaty allows nations to explore and use space but prohibits countries from treating the moon as national territory.

Trump’s social media activity also included repeated portrayals of himself as a dominant political or military figure and a reposted ranking that placed him above former presidents including Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. Other images touched on Canada, Mexico, Iran and ongoing international disputes.

The president has previously expressed interest in territorial expansion, particularly Greenland, and has repeatedly referred to Canada in terms suggesting it could become part of the United States. The latest posts appeared to continue that rhetorical theme, though neither the New Mexico nor moon posts amounted to a formal government proposal or policy announcement.

The distinction is important because some of Trump’s recent geographic changes have involved actual presidential directives, while others remain social media statements.

The Lake Ontario change, for example, was issued through a formal executive order directing federal agencies to use “Lake America.” The New Mexico suggestion, by contrast, has so far appeared only through social media posts and has not been accompanied by legislation or an executive action attempting to alter the state’s official name.

Trump continued posting into Monday, sharing additional maps, memes and attacks on political opponents.

The White House had not provided a detailed explanation for the president’s New Mexico or moon posts as of Monday, while New Mexico officials made clear they had no intention of embracing a new state name.