As a New York businessman, Donald Trump put his name on real estate, golf courses, vodka, steaks, bottled water and his own university.
As president in his second term, he is merging his personal brand with national institutions and government programmes, an unusual assertion of power by a sitting US president.
Since returning to office in January, the Republican president has affixed his name to prominent Washington buildings, a planned class of Navy warships, a visa programme for wealthy foreigners, a government-run prescription drug website, and federal savings accounts for children.
Some historians see it as a superficial legacy-building effort by the president that may not stand the test of time. A backlash has already begun against the renaming of Washington’s premier performance venue as the Donald J Trump and John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, with several acts cancelling in protest.
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“I don’t think the naming or renaming guarantees that Trump’s name will be affixed to those things until time immemorial,” said Austin Sarat, a professor of jurisprudence and political science at Amherst College, who questioned whether Trump’s name would remain if Democrats regain power.
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Elizabeth Huston, a White House spokeswoman, said the administration was not focused on “smart branding”, but delivering on president Trump’s goal of “Making America Great Again”.
“Drug-pricing agreements, overdue upgrades of national landmarks, lasting peace deals, and wealth-creation accounts for children are historic initiatives that would not have been possible without president Trump’s bold leadership,” she said in an emailed statement.
The first year of Trump’s second White House term has seen a shock-and-awe policy blitz that expanded presidential power, remade some parts of the federal bureaucracy and economy, and reshaped US relations with the world.
But one of the most striking features of the past 11 months has been the energy and attention Trump has given to placing his name on buildings and government programmes.
Trump’s populist moves have alarmed Democrats and civil society watchdogs who worry they create the impression that Trump, rather than the state, is the provider of essential services. Defenders say what Trump is doing is simply an extension of his decades as a savvy marketer.
The biggest outcry came this December when his name was added to the Kennedy Center, named for the late Democratic president in 1964 by an act of Congress to honour him after his assassination. The centre was renamed by its board of trustees, a majority of whom were appointed by Trump.
Just up the Potomac river sits the US Institute of Peace, a government-funded think tank established by Congress and focused on conflict avoidance.
On December 3rd, the US State Department renamed it the Donald J Trump Institute of Peace, based on Trump’s assertion he has ended eight wars, a claim widely disputed given ongoing conflicts in several of those hotspots. Trump’s name has been affixed to the building’s exterior.
Washington has many buildings and monuments named after presidents, but that has traditionally occurred well after they have left office and are normally national tributes to them, often established by Congress.
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Julian Zelizer, a presidential historian at Princeton University, said while previous presidents were not shy in reminding voters they were responsible for popular policies, including stimulus money or infrastructure programmes, “that’s very different to what you’re seeing today”.
“It’s a lot easier to get your name on a building or a ship than to pass legislation that’s enduring,” Zelizer said. In terms of a lasting legacy, however, “it’s very thin.”
Trump has also announced a plan for a new generation of US Navy warships, which he called “Trump-class” battleships. He said he will be personally involved in the designs.
If Trump’s name appears on any of the ships, or “Trump-class” becomes an official Navy designation for new battleships, a later name change would be a first, Zelizer said.
But Trump’s announcement does not guarantee the ships will be built. The Navy has cancelled shipbuilding programmes in the past, and the Trump-class ships are still in the design phase of a process that typically takes many years.
Trump’s tax and spending cut Bill passed in July created a new type of tax-advantageous savings account for children. These are now called “Trump Accounts” on the Internal Revenue Service’s website.
As the accounts were created by an act of Congress, changing their name will likely need congressional approval.
In October, the US Treasury shared draft designs for $1 coins featuring images of Trump, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of America’s declaration of independence from Great Britain. It has not been confirmed whether the Trump coin will be issued next year.
The Trump administration also launched the “Trump Gold Card”, a new immigrant visa programme allowing wealthy foreign investors an expedited path to permission to live in the US, and TrumpRx.gov, a website offering reduced prices for prescription drugs that is projected to launch in 2026.
Even the planned name of the US Air Force’s new fighter jet, the F-47 – while not bearing Trump’s name – is a partial reference to the 47th president, the Air Force said.
Trump called F-47 a “beautiful number”. – Reuters
