U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) looks on during a press conference with Republican House Leadership, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 1, 2026. REUTERS/Aaron Schwartz
House Speaker Mike Johnson has spent this year casting Republicans as the "party of grown-ups," but over Labor Day weekend, President Donald Trump took dynamite to that argument, according to an MS NOW analysis by Steve Benen.
Trump settled on a new priority eight weeks out from the midterms: renaming New Mexico.
The push began Sunday, when Trump posted a map of the state with "Mexico" crossed out in red and "America" scrawled in its place.
"Many people suggested changing the name of New Mexico, one of the great vote cheating states of all time, to NEW AMERICA," he wrote in a follow-up post. "So much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State. Wow, I Love It!!!"
He then hammered the idea across seven more posts.
Trump added to the weekend oddities, unveiling new Space Force uniforms, sharing AI-generated videos of himself leading robot armies, and declaring that the moon belongs to the United States.
The New York Times noted presidents cannot rename a state on a whim, however. The change must originate in New Mexico, and its Democratic leaders quickly shot down the suggestion.
"New Mexico's name isn't up for debate — it's been ours since before the United States existed," Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham maintained.
Benen highlighted that this is the pattern voters are about to punish at the ballot box. A record-high 73% of Americans told CNN pollsters this summer that Trump hasn't paid enough attention to the country's most important problems, even as his approval sits at a career-low 34% and families keep struggling with the cost of living.
While Johnson wants the party viewed as the "grown-ups," Trump has other ideas.
"But Trump doesn’t just step on that argument, he also renders it hilarious. Americans looking for mature policymakers who are focused on tackling the nation’s real challenges in a serious and sober way have no reason to rally behind a fundamentally unserious party led by a guy who spends Labor Day focused on renaming New Mexico," Benin concluded.