Trump Files Airport Name Copyright As Florida Rushes To Rename Airport After Him
From Trump Tower to his Boeing 757, we should have known that legacy to President Donald Trump means plastering his name everywhere in gold letters. Both houses of the Florida Legislature voted this week to rename Palm Beach International Airport after the President as soon as July 1 of this year. Even after Governor Ron DeSantis signs the bill into law, the change to Donald J. Trump International Airport will still require FAA approval and a rights agreement with the Trump Organization.
Yes, Trump could attempt to profit from an airport renaming. According to the New York Times, his business filed applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for potential airport names and airport code "DJT." However, it's unclear how much money the Trump Organization will attempt to squeeze out of Palm Beach County and the State of Florida. The business stated in response to the Florida bill, "To be clear, the president and his family will not receive any royalty, licensing fee or financial consideration whatsoever from the proposed airport renaming."
Mar-a-Lago's no-fly zone was already a headache
Trump's second term has already complicated operations at Palm Beach International. Mar-a-Lago sits roughly 2.5 miles east of the airport's longest runway. Last October, the FAA declared a one-nautical-mile no-fly zone around the beach club residence regardless of whether Trump was at home or not. The zone expands out to 10 nautical miles if the President is in town. Previously, there were no restrictions when Trump was out-of-town
This change obviously impacts airport arrivals and departures. According to the Palm Beach Post, the new flight paths impact four times as many people as the previous paths. The sharp turns that aircraft have to make to avoid the no-fly zone cover a 5-square-mile area with 11,000 homes. Residents tolerated the roaring jet engines only when they were temporary, during Trump's trips to Mar-a-Lago. They're far from pleased that it's become a permanent ordeal.
After stopping Dulles from getting renamed, Democrats are helpless
Let's not forget that this isn't the first attempt at a Trump Airport. The Trump Administration attempted to rename Washington Dulles International Airport after Trump when returning to power last year. However, the change would have required the consent of Congress and the Republicans only have a 53-seat majority in the Senate. I guess the filibuster is good for something.
The White House attempted to pressure Minority Leader Chuck Schumer into supporting the name change by threatening to freeze federal funding from a crucial project to double train capacity under the Hudson River to Penn Station. The Democratic senator didn't yield. Trump froze the funds, but a court deemed the move illegal and the funds were released. This time around, Democrats can only beg the FAA to keep PBI as the airport's code, as this is the only aspect of the name change under federal control.
Naming airports after presidents isn't new or unique, but it typically comes after they've left office or died. Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush had airports renamed in their honor in the late 1990s. Most famously, New York International Airport was renamed after John F. Kennedy just a month after his assassination in Dallas. In the aftermath of a beloved president being gunned down in public, it was an understandable decision. From Monaco to Morocco, streets were renamed after President Kennedy. Trump can't make a similar case for renaming things after himself. To put it simply, he's no Jack Kennedy.