#character — Trump Fail

Amplifying a Satirical Hoax That Claimed He Had Signed Such an Order, Trump Spent Labor Day Posting Seven Times in an Hour to Rename the State of New Mexico "New America" — Crossing "Mexico" Off the Map of a Majority-Hispanic State Whose Name Predates the United States, Smearing It as "One of the Great Vote Cheating States of All Time," and Proposing Something No President Has Any Power to Do

Over the September 6-7, 2026 Labor Day weekend, Trump repeatedly posted that the state of New Mexico should be renamed "New America." He shared a map with "Mexico" crossed out in red and "America" written beneath it (reshared by the White House), an AI-generated video of himself slapping "America" over a "Welcome to New Mexico" road sign, and wrote: "Many people suggested changing the name of New Mexico, one of the great vote cheating states of all time, to NEW AMERICA." He posted about it seven times in a single hour. The spree was triggered by a satirical account's fake claim that he had signed an executive order to that effect — a hoax Snopes debunked — which Trump then adopted as his own. Two things are worth stating plainly. First, a president has no power to rename a state; that requires the state and Congress, so this is pure posting, not policy. Second, "New Mexico" is not named for the country of Mexico — the name predates the United States itself, and the state is majority-Hispanic — so crossing out "Mexico" and stamping "America" over it is a nativist gesture aimed at one of the most Hispanic states in the country, bundled with an evidence-free smear that it is a haven of "vote cheating." Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham responded that the name "isn't up for debate — it's been ours since before the United States existed," and that the stunt was an attempt to "distract Americans from his disastrous war in Iran" while "the price of gas — and everything else — keeps rising."

On the 25th Anniversary of 9/11, Trump Plans to Skip the Ground Zero Remembrance — Where Families Read the Names of the Dead — Reportedly Because a Rule in Place Since 2012 Bars Politicians From Giving Speeches There, So He Will Go Instead to the Pentagon, Where He Can Have the Microphone

September 11, 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people — a milestone remembrance. According to reporting, Trump plans to skip the ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at Ground Zero in New York, where the day is observed by relatives reading aloud the names of the dead. The reason, per multiple outlets: the memorial has barred elected officials from delivering speeches at the anniversary ceremony since 2012 — a rule adopted to keep the day nonpartisan and focused entirely on the victims and their families — and Trump wanted to speak. His team had even done advance site visits to the Manhattan memorial before he decided instead to mark the anniversary at the Pentagon, which was also struck on 9/11 and where he can deliver remarks. Vice President JD Vance will represent the White House at Ground Zero in his place. The White House disputes the framing: Communications Director Steven Cheung responded to reporting on it with "FAKE NEWS." But the reported explanation is its own indictment. The Ground Zero ceremony asks a president to stand among mourners in silence while parents and children read the names of the dead — to be present without being the center. That, reportedly, is the one thing he would not do. Even the nation's most solemn day, it seems, is only worth attending if he holds the microphone.