12 rumors about Trump renaming things, examined

From the Kennedy Center to the "Department of War," we've investigated many claims stemming from Trump's controversial name changes. Published Sept. 29, 2026 Renaming things has been a hallmark of U.S. President Donald Trump's second term, often leading to controversy. For example, on his first day back in office in 2025, Trump issued an executive order changing the federal name of the United States' tallest mountain, Denali, to Mount McKinley. He also feuded with The Associated Press over its decision to continue using the name Gulf of Mexico, instead of Gulf of America, following that same executive order. Other examples have followed suit. In September 2026, though he undertook no official action to make such a change, Trump posted an image on social media showing New Mexico as "New America." Later that month, he told the United Nations he was renaming "artificial intelligence" to "super intelligence" in federal government documents. Over the course of Trump's second term, Snopes has investigated a number of rumors related to Trump's penchant for rebranding things. Here are 12 such claims we have researched: Sources "Alaska Legislature Asks Trump to Retain Denali's Name Instead of Change It to Mount McKinley." AP News, 7 Feb. 2025, https://apnews.com/article/trump-denali-mount-mckinley-alaska-2fbff88e1845e066a65cbabfa17284ae. Accessed 25 Sept. 2026.Barrett, Amanda. "AP Style Guidance on Gulf of Mexico, Mount McKinley | the Associated Press." The Associated Press, 11 Feb. 2025, https://www.ap.org/the-definitive-source/announcements/ap-style-guidance-on-gulf-of-mexico-mount-mckinley/. Accessed 25 Sept. 2026.Bauder, David. "AP and Trump Administration Argue Access Case Before Federal Appeals Court." AP News, 24 Nov. 2025, https://apnews.com/article/ap-trump-media-access-pool-gulf-mexico-america-9a6667aae9743032c51c42c5e4f7dedc. Accessed 25 Sept. 2026.Chia, Osmond. "Trump Super Intelligence: Will the President's Attempt to Rebrand AI Work?" BBC, 23 Sept. 2026, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqy4z9pv4w0po. Accessed 25 Sept. 2026.Executive Order 14172—Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-14172-restoring-names-that-honor-american-greatness. Accessed 28 Sept. 2026.House, The White. 'Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness'. The White House, 21 Jan. 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/restoring-names-that-honor-american-greatness/.Trump, Donald. Truth Social, 6 Sept. 2026, https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117225349620809512. Accessed 25 Sept. 2026. By Emery Winter Emery Winter is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and previously worked for TEGNA'S VERIFY national fact-checking team. They enjoy sports and video games. Article Tags