Kathrine Frich
President Donald Trump has spent months targeting geographic names tied to neighboring countries.
National pride often inspires leaders to rename landmarks and public spaces.
Sweeping geographical edits can signal a desire to break away from foreign influences.
Yet when history gets ignored in favor of political optics, a simple map edit can quickly backfire.
Sweeping geographic edits
President Donald Trump has spent months targeting geographic names tied to neighboring countries. His strategy aims to distance the United States from foreign labels during heated trade and border disputes.
Late last month, he turned his sights toward Canada during an escalating tariff row. Trump suggested rebranding a major body of water, as reported by the Express.
“The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to do much business with Ontario any longer,” Trump said. Ontario Premier Doug Ford brushed off the threat, calling it “a lot of rhetoric.”
Targeting foreign labels
The trend began last year when the president targeted the southern border. He publicly proposed renaming a massive body of water to sever ties with the nation down south.
“We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring. A lot of character,” Trump claimed at the time.
He argued that the new label fit his border enforcement push. “The Gulf of America, what a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate. It’s appropriate. And Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country. They can stop them,” he added.
Missing the mark
Now, the president has applied that same logic to an American state. Trump uploaded a modified map of New Mexico to Truth Social, crossing out “Mexico” with a bold red mark and writing “America.”
The post attempts to erase another foreign sounding label. However, critics quickly pointed out that the president completely missed the mark on historical facts.
Spanish explorers named the area Nuevo Mexico in the 1560s after the Mexica valley. The name held for centuries before the country of Mexico even existed. By attempting to cut ties with a foreign neighbor, the post accidentally targeted centuries of local American history instead.
Sources: Express
