Ron DeSantis signs bill renaming Palm Beach airport after Donald Trump

He has buildings, institutions, government programs, warships, currency, and now Donald Trump is getting an airport that bears his name even as he looks forward to a towering Trump presidential library in Miami.Ron DeSantis, Florida’s governor, signed a bill on Monday saying the Palm Beach International Airport was being renamed to the President Donald J Trump international airport.Trump’s family business filed a trademark application for the airport name in February. If approved, the name change would take effect on 1 July.The Florida airport is the latest in a series of buildings, institutions, government programs, navy battleships, national parks passes and even money to be named after the US president.DeSantis also worked last year to get a parcel of land in Miami to be the home for Trump’s presidential library. On Truth Social on Monday, Trump posted a video of a rendering of the library, set to dramatic music, which showed an enormous mirrored skyscraper emblazoned with his name and the American flag.The video includes panning shots of the tower’s exterior and interior, with a presidential jet parked in the lobby alongside a gold escalator like the one Trump rode while launching his presidential campaign in 2015. Other shots show a giant ballroom like the one he’s planning for The White House, a replica Oval Office, rooftop gardens and a large, gold statue of Trump.A credit says the design comes from Bermello Ajamil, a Miami-based firm. Trump posted the video with no explanation beyond a link to a new website for the library. The website says, “coming soon”, with a link to donate money.The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the plans.Trump, a native of New York, moved to Florida in 2019. Before the move, he lived in a penthouse at Trump Tower but has since taken primary residence at his Mar-a-Lago resort in West Palm Beach.Before the name can be changed, a formal request must be submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration, which then must process the change in various flight charting and navigation databases, and the airport signs must be changed.Last week, representative Brian Mast introduced legislation to change the airport’s three-letter code from PBI to DJT denoting Trump’s initials.The US Treasury said last week that US paper currency will bear Trump’s signature starting this summer, the first time a sitting president has signed American money.Trump’s name has also been affixed to a planned class of Navy warships, a visa program for wealthy foreigners, a government-run prescription drug website, and federal savings accounts for children.In December, the board of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which Trump filled with allies during a board takeover, added Trump’s name to the institution.Trump’s name was also added in December to the United States Institute of Peace building in Washington, months after his administration seized the non-profit organization and all but closed it.Earlier this month, a federal arts panel comprised of members appointed by Trump approved a commemorative gold coin featuring his image, part of a series of coins the US Mint is planning to produce to celebrate the US’s 250th birthday this year.In February, The White House confirmed Trump raised the idea of dropping his hold on funding for a New York Hudson River tunnel project in exchange for Democratic senator Chuck Schumer supporting renaming of Washington Dulles airport and New York Penn Station after Trump.