WASHINGTON: An airport in Florida is poised to be renamed after US President Donald Trump, after a bill proposing the change was approved by the state’s Republican-led legislature on Thursday.
Trump, a real estate mogul who has emblazoned his name on properties around the globe, continues to expand his personal brand by leaving a mark on the country through an unprecedented campaign of image and naming initiatives.
State records show that the legislature approved the renaming of Palm Beach International Airport as the “President Donald J. Trump International Airport.” Governor Ron DeSantis, who was once a political rival of Trump, is expected to sign the measure into law.
According to AFP, the airport, located in the luxurious town of Palm Beach, is just minutes away from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, reinforcing the president’s longstanding connection to the area.
The renaming will require final approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. If approved, this move would add to a growing list of institutions bearing Trump’s name.
In December, the president’s handpicked board of the Kennedy Center in Washington, a memorial to the late President John F. Kennedy, voted to rename the complex the “Trump-Kennedy Center.”
Additionally, the State Department added Trump’s name to the US Institute of Peace in the same month. Past efforts to rename New York’s Penn Station and Washington’s Dulles International Airport after Trump, however, were unsuccessful, according to US media reports.
Meanwhile, the Treasury Department has confirmed that drafts are being prepared for a commemorative $1 coin featuring Trump’s image, despite existing laws prohibiting the depiction of a sitting or living president on currency.
On Thursday, a large blue banner featuring Trump’s face was draped across the Justice Department headquarters, highlighting the president’s ongoing influence and the symbolic reach of his initiatives, even in agencies traditionally seen as politically independent.
