Fact Check: Did Donald Trump say he wants to rename Washington DC to ‘District of America’?

WASHINGTON, DC: A clip has gone viral on social media claiming Donald Trump is on a mission to rename Washington, DC.

The supposed “hot mic” recording claims to capture the 47th president suggesting that the nation's capital should no longer be called Washington, DC. Instead, he reportedly wants to switch things up and rename it “Washington, DA”—as in, District of America.

Trump is allegedly heard saying in the now-viral clip: "No more Washington, DC. I hate it. It makes no sense. They call it the District of Columbia. It's got nothing to do with Columbia. It's nowhere near Colombia. From now on, it will be Washington, DA. District of America. No more of this Columbia nonsense."

Fact Check: False

According to X's AI chatbot Grok, the entire thing is fake news.

Grok said in a post addressing the clip, "No evidence supports the claim that Trump wants to rename Washington, D.C., to 'District of America' (DA). Research shows he’s focused on federal control of DC, not renaming it. The idea may stem from a mix-up over 'Columbia', but it’s likely misinformation."

"Trump has suggested renaming other places, like the Gulf of Mexico, but not DC," it added.

There’s no actual proof that Trump ever said this, and no major news outlet has reported anything even close to it. A simple Google search confirms that the whole thing is bogus.

Donald Trump’s track record of renaming places

While this whole “District of America” thing might be fake, Donald Trump has made some serious moves when it comes to changing the names of places in the US. Since his return to the Oval Office, he has taken it upon himself to rename not one but two major landmarks.

First, the Gulf of Mexico. Trump decided that wasn’t American enough, so he changed it to the Gulf of America. 

"We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring. That covers a lot of territory, the Gulf of America. What a beautiful name and it’s appropriate," he said during a speech on tariffs.

Then there’s Mount Denali in Alaska, which he reverted back to Mount McKinley—its original name before Barack Obama changed it in 2015.

Trump wanted to honor former president William McKinley, and his executive order spelled it all out: "President McKinley is honored for giving his life for our great nation and dutifully recognized for his historic legacy of protecting America’s interests and generating enormous wealth for our nation."

Trump even praised him at a rally. “A great president, very good president. At a minimum, he was a very good businessman. He was a businessman, then a governor, very successful businessman," he gushed.

McKinley was assassinated in 1901, and had Mount McKinley named after him in 1917.

According to The Guardian, Trump’s renaming spree is all about honoring "American greatness". His executive order even stated, “President Trump is bringing common sense to government and renewing the pillars of American civilization.”

Trump’s Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, was directed to make sure these name changes appear on all federal maps and documents. However, the order clarifies that the names can stay as they are internationally.