Why Trump’s renaming of New Mexico faces a hard constitutional wall

· Toronto Sun

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OTTAWA — The U.S. president’s bizarre re-naming spree has now officially crossed state lines.

Hot on the heels of using his ongoing campaign against Canada to rename one of the Great Lakes , U.S. President Donald Trump appears to now have his sights set on “Americanizing” the Land of Enchantment.

In an uncaptioned post to his Truth Social platform on Sunday , Trump posted a map of the U.S. state of New Mexico with the word “Mexico” crossed out and replaced with “America.”

The post comes just weeks after the U.S. president — shortly after trade talks between Canada and the United States broke down — signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America, ordering U.S. federal agencies and geographic agencies within 30 days to rename the easternmost Great Lake.

On the very first day of his second term, Trump signed a similar order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”

State’s name predates both Mexican and U.S. independence

Trump’s intent with his social media post remains unclear.

While federal agencies are bound to obey executive orders from the White House, private companies and non-American governments, cartographic service providers and media organizations are under no obligation to follow suit.

As well, U.S. presidents do not have the authority, via executive orders or otherwise, to summarily rename states.

The United States Constitution, not to mention the entire American political system, treats states as sovereign political entities rather than de facto vassal states of the U.S. federal government.

The Tenth Amendment, the last of the original amendments in the U.S. Constitution known as the “Bill of Rights,” demarcates the difference between federal and state powers, limits federal government overreach and assigns any powers not given to the federal government via the Constitution to the states.

As well, state names are baked into their own individual state constitutions, and as such can only be renamed by constitutional amendments passed by state legislatures and ratified by their residents.

According to fact sheets published by the United States Department of the Interior, the state now known as New Mexico was named Nuevo México by Spanish explorers in the 16th century, centuries before the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the creation of the modern nation of Mexico.

What about New York? Or Delaware?

New Mexico isn’t the only state with origins outside of America’s shores.

New York, the U.S. President’s home state, was named in honour of James II of England, who before becoming King in Feb. 1685 was the Duke of York.

Nearby New Hampshire was named after the English county of Hampshire by its founder, while New Jersey was named after the Island of Jersey in the English Channel.

Delaware was named in honour of the English governor of Virginia Colony, Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr .

Both North and South Carolina were named in honour of King Charles I, whose Latinized name is Carolana; the states of Virginia and West Virginia were named in honour of the “virgin queen” Elizabeth I, and Rhode Island was named in honour of the Greek island of Rhodes.

Louisiana was named after King Louis XIV of France, Georgia was named in honour of England’s George II, while Maryland was named after the wife of Charles I, Queen Henrietta Maria.

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham didn’t appreciate Trump’s post.

New Mexico’s name isn’t up for debate — it’s been ours since before the United States existed,” she wrote in a Sunday evening tweet.

“While the President tries to distract Americans from his disastrous war in Iran, gas prices keep soaring. Americans are also spending more at the grocery store, losing access to health care and wondering if they’ll ever be able to afford a home.”

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