Fake Post Claims Trump Wants Montana Renamed
A screenshot attributed to Donald Trump calling for renaming Montana to 'Mountain' was fabricated, according to Snopes.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Elections
A screenshot purportedly showing a Trump social media post calling to rename Montana 'Mountain' spread on X and Threads in October. Snopes determined the post was fabricated and found no trace of it on Trump's official accounts.
Why it matters
The fabricated post circulated widely across Montana-relevant social media channels and attributed a specific political position to a national figure. Verifying such screenshots helps Montana voters distinguish authentic statements from manufactured content during an election period.
Searches of Trump's official X and Truth Social accounts and an archive of his Truth Social posts returned no matching post. The screenshot's format also differs from authentic posts on both platforms, and the creator of the image has not been identified.
The players
Snopes
Snopes is a fact-checking website that investigates viral claims and rumors, and it determined the Trump Montana post was fabricated.
Montana Historical Society
The Montana Historical Society is the state's official history agency, which explains that the name Montana is a Latin and Spanish word for a mountainous region.
Donald Trump
Donald Trump is the current President of the United States, and the screenshot falsely attributed a Montana renaming call to him.
The details
The screenshot combined emblems and profile photos from Trump's various accounts, pairing his current Truth Social profile photo with the gray verified checkmark from X. The alleged post claimed 'Montana' is a Spanish word meaning mountain and that a rebrand would raise property values and wages. The earliest known version appeared in an Oct. 20 Instagram post from @whatthehelena_, an account describing itself as satire about Helena, Montana.
Timeline
1864: Montana name applied to the territory at its creation.
1889: Montana became a U.S. state.
Oct. 20: Earliest known version of the screenshot posted on Instagram.
Political Context
Fabricated screenshots attributed to national figures, like this one falsely tied to Donald Trump, follow a pattern fact-checkers such as Snopes have documented repeatedly. Verification typically relies on checking official accounts and archives, which is how this post was ruled fake.
Screenshots of political posts can circulate quickly without verification, so readers should check claims against an official account or a reliable fact-checker before sharing. Montana residents relying on social media for election information may find that a convincing image is not proof of an authentic statement.
The takeaway
Before sharing a political screenshot, check the original source on the official account or a fact-checking site, since this fabricated Trump post was detectable by simple searches.
Further reading
Explore more on Montana Elections coverage for context on the state's political landscape.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Snopes.
