Trump puts his name on federal buildings, roads and warships in first year of second term

A presidential historian said the scale of in-office naming tributes has no modern historical parallel, while independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont this week introduced legislation to prohibit naming or renaming any federal building or land after a sitting president.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump attended a ceremony in Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday to mark the renaming of a 4-mile (6-kilometer) stretch of road from the local airport to his Mar-a-Lago estate as “President Donald J. Trump Boulevard,” capping a year in which his administration and Republican allies have affixed his name to the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Kennedy Center performing arts venue, a coming class of Navy battleships and a series of government programs and diplomatic landmarks.

Among the items bearing the president’s name in his first year of a second term are “Trump Accounts” for tax-deferred investments, the TrumpRx government website for prescription drug sales, the “Trump Gold Card” visa costing at least $1 million, and the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity — a transit corridor named in a deal the administration brokered between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“That’s a very important stretch,” Trump said Friday, thanking local officials at the Palm Beach dedication. “When people see that the beautiful sign is all lit up nice at night and it says ‘Donald J. Trump Boulevard,’ they’ll be filled with pride. Just pride. Not in me. Pride in our country.”

Jeffrey Engel, the David Gergen Director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, said the scale of the practice has no historical parallel.

“At no previous time in history have we consistently named things after a president who was still in office,” Engel said. “One might even extend that to say a president who is still alive. Those kind of memorializations are supposed to be just that — memorials to the passing hero.”

Engel said the practice can send a signal “that the easiest way to get access and favor from the president is to play to his ego and give him something or name something after him.”

White House spokeswoman Liz Huston said the administration’s focus was on delivering results, not on image.

“The Administration’s focus isn’t on smart branding, but delivering on President Trump’s goal of Making America Great Again,” Huston said.

The White House also cited historical precedents, noting that the nation’s capital was named after President George Washington and the Hoover Dam was named after President Herbert Hoover while each was serving in office.

The naming pattern extends a practice Trump built his public profile on before entering politics. As a real estate developer, he affixed his name in large gold letters to hotels, a casino and other buildings, and on consumer products including neckties, wine and steaks. As a 2024 presidential candidate, he launched Trump-branded watches, fragrances, Bibles and sneakers. Since returning to the White House, his businesses have introduced a Trump Mobile phone company and a cryptocurrency memecoin named $TRUMP.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, introduced legislation this week to ban the naming or renaming of any federal building or land after a sitting president — a prohibition that, under the bill, would apply retroactively to the Kennedy Center renaming from December and the Institute of Peace.

“I think he is a narcissist who likes to see his name up there. If he owns a hotel, that’s his business,” Sanders said. “But he doesn’t own federal buildings.”

Sanders compared the practice to behavior he associated with authoritarian governments. “But to use federal buildings to enhance your own position very much sounds like the ‘Great Leader’ mentality of North Korea, and that is not something that I think the American people want,” he said.

Several Republican members of Congress have introduced proposals to extend the tributes. Rep. Claudia Tenney of New York introduced legislation to designate June 14 as “Trump’s Birthday and Flag Day.” Rep. Greg Steube of Florida introduced a bill to rename the Washington-area Metro rail system the “Trump Train.” Rep. Addison McDowell of North Carolina introduced legislation to rename Washington Dulles International Airport as Donald J. Trump International Airport, citing Trump’s record on combating fentanyl trafficking — a personal cause for McDowell after his brother died of an overdose.

“I think that’s somebody that deserves to be honored, whether they’re still the president or whether they’re not,” McDowell said.

Florida state Rep. Meg Weinberger said she is separately working on legislation to rename Palm Beach International Airport as Donald J. Trump International Airport — a potential naming conflict with the Dulles proposal.

The Palm Beach road dedicated on Friday is not the first Florida roadway to receive Trump’s name since his return to the White House. Officials in Hialeah renamed a street “President Donald J. Trump Avenue” in December 2024.