A Florida airport was renamed after US President Donald Trump on Thursday, accelerating a push by the US president and supporters to plaster his name and image on everything from national landmarks to banknotes.
Eric Trump, the Republican leader’s son, celebrated by landing on the private family Boeing 757—dubbed “Trump Force One”—at what had been known as Palm Beach International Airport for nearly 50 years.
“A beautiful day,” a grinning Eric Trump said on Fox News at the newly minted President Donald J. Trump International Airport, a short drive from the family’s Mar-a-Lago golf resort and compound.
The airport renaming was signed into law by Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis.
“I don’t think there’s anybody more synonymous with Palm Beach than Donald Trump and maybe all of Florida,” Eric Trump said.
He stressed that the major route coming out of the airport is already known as “President Donald J. Trump Boulevard.”
And now, anybody traveling into Palm Beach will be given a ticket that reads, “You’re going to see ‘DJT’ in perpetuity.”
Travelers at the airport Thursday morning shared mixed feelings on the change of the airport’s name.
Corporate pilot Chris Bailey welcomed the name change, telling AFP that Trump has “certainly done enough to warrant a name of an airport.”
However, others were kicking against it.
“Palm Beach is a better brand. People don’t really like Donald Trump,” John Manov, a doctor, said. “It seems in poor taste.”
Challenging the longstanding US custom of not honoring living individuals—especially current presidents—on money and in architecture, the Trump name and likeness are quickly proliferating.
Officials, such as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, were set to reveal the Donald J. Trump Bridge in Tennessee on Thursday.
Washington already features the renamed Donald J. Trump United States Institute of Peace, and giant posters with his face have been hung from the facades of major government buildings.
Trump’s name was briefly imposed on the famous Kennedy Arts Center in the capital before a judge ruled this illegal.
In addition, there are Trump-branded visa, medical, and other official government programs.
His image is due to appear on some US passports and already appears on passes to national parks. An entire “Trump class” of naval ships has been announced.
In another first, Trump’s signature will appear on US dollar notes later this year, the Treasury says.
Critics liken the spread of the Trump brand to cults of personality usually seen in authoritarian countries and dictatorships.
Eric Trump noted that there was anything wrong with the airport renaming, telling Fox News that “anything that bears our name is slightly controversial.”
Speaking about how the president feels to have the Florida airport named after him, Eric Trump said he was “honored” and “humbled.”
