For a president obsessed with self-aggrandizement and self-glorification, Donald Trump has reason to be pleased with recent developments. Indeed, it has been challenging to keep up with the many things the Republican and his allies have applied his name to in recent months.
They’ve added Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center and the Institute of Peace, announced the construction of “Trump-class” battleships, unveiled a commemorative legal-tender coin that will feature his face on both sides and launched “Trump Gold Cards,” “Trump Accounts” and “TrumpRx” (the government’s new drug-pricing website). By some accounts, the president expects the forthcoming White House ballroom to bear his name, too.
But wait, there’s more. Trump wants a football stadium in Washington, D.C., to be named after him, the nation’s next-generation fighter jet will have an “F-47” designation in honor of him (he is the nation’s 47th president) and training for incoming Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents was reduced from 50 days to 47 days for the same reason.
The Republican also recently said it’s “not too late” to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico (which he has attempted to rename once already) to the “Gulf of Trump.”
And now, Politico reported on the latest addition to the growing list:
Florida lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to legislation that would rename Palm Beach International Airport after President Donald Trump.
The proposal will now arrive on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk, as the Legislature works out how much it wants to spend — possibly upward of $5.5 million — on a massive rebranding at the airport mere minutes away from Mar-a-Lago.
It’s worth emphasizing for context that Trump apparently wanted to change the name of Dulles International Airport, which is just outside of Washington, to honor himself, and he was even prepared to execute an extortion scheme with Democratic officials to get his way.
Evidently, he’ll have to settle for a much smaller airport.
For now, let’s put aside the question of why state policymakers would spend millions of taxpayer dollars to rebrand an airport to honor a twice-impeached, scandal-plagued, historically unpopular convicted felon. Let’s also overlook the fact that, at least in this country, political leaders tend not to get airports named after them while they’re still in office.
Let’s instead consider a pressing, unusual matter: trademarks.
Just last week, ahead of the vote in Tallahassee, the Trump Organization filed trademark applications for “President Donald J. Trump International Airport” and “Donald J. Trump International Airport,” as well as the possible “DJT” airport code.
The move led to an obvious question: Would the president’s family business try to profit from Florida’s decision to rename the Palm Beach International Airport after him, either through royalties or licensing fees?
The Trump Organization has said it has no such intentions, but time will tell. Watch this space.
