California Asks New Mexico If They Want To Trade State Names

SACRAMENTO, CA —  In an attempt to restore his reputation and push back against the Trump administration’s deportation efforts, California Governor Gavin Newsom reportedly called New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday to propose a temporary exchange of state names.

“Heyyy, Michelle, it’s Gav,” Newsom allegedly said in a voicemail, with faint sounds of protests in the background. “I don’t know if you’ve been watching the news, but I need a small favor. Wanted to see if you’d let me rename my state ‘New Mexico’ and you can rename your state ‘California’. It would just be for a few weeks until these ICE riots blow over. Call me back, thanks!”

An unverified source claims the idea stemmed from a conversation with President Trump, who reportedly mocked California as “a new Mexico” after images of Mexican-flag-waving protesters gained traction online.

After giving it some thought, Newsom realized that since much of his state’s population are Mexican citizens and that the two regions share comparable levels of lawlessness, rioting, and drug use, a name change made perfect sense. 

At press time, Newsom was seen raising the Mexican flag over the state Capitol to convince Grisham to agree to his proposal.