Americans honor their presidents through monuments and statues, or through representations on coins and street signs. One rule they always follow is patience: these honors are granted after a president has permanently left office or passed away. Trump has no patience. He has no limits.
Donald Trump has altered many democratic traditions, but he has completely abandoned this one. He has been putting his name on buildings since before most Americans were even born. He built his political career on the basis of his personal brand, and a large part of his second term was marked by the obsession of leaving his mark.
The result is an unprecedented phenomenon in American history. The more closely you look, the more often you notice Trump's face, name, or signature around you - whether on a government building, on an infrastructure project, on a banknote, on a website funded by taxpayers, or on an official document, writes The Atlantic.
To find a comparable leader, equally obsessed with proliferating their own image, historians consulted by the American publication found examples only across oceans and in other eras. For example, the face of Hafez al-Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly three decades, appeared on the covers of school textbooks, and Mussolini covered the facade of Palazzo Braschi in Rome with a representation of his face.
The cult of personality is, in part, how authoritarian leaders have tried to erase the memory of their predecessors and "insert themselves into the social fabric," explained Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a historian specializing in the study of authoritarianism at NYU.
Trump's face - looking at federal employees, residents, and tourists from banners displayed on buildings such as the Department of Labor - conveys the message that "he is inseparable from these more impersonal governing institutions," says Lisa Wedeen, a political scientist at the University of Chicago.
Where Trump has left his mark
- A banner with the president's face appeared last year on the Department of Agriculture building, but was removed shortly after. Similar banners remain displayed on the buildings of the Departments of Labor, Justice, and the Interior.
- The United States Institute of Peace, a government-funded think tank, included Donald Trump's name in its own name in December, even as a court battle continues over the administration's efforts to take control of the institution.
- The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has become the target of an orchestrated takeover by Trump. The center, originally named the National Cultural Center, was renamed after Kennedy following a decision by Congress, two months after his assassination. Less than six months after loyalists to Trump were appointed to the center's board, they placed his name on the facade, the letters were removed following a court order. However, two months later, a prelate continues to cover the place where the president's name was, and the board now wants to inscribe the following message on the facade: "Restored and renovated by President Donald J. Trump."
- In his rushed desire to "beautify" Washington, the president has turned entire portions of the city into construction sites. One of the most notable of these beautification initiatives targets the famous Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial, an operation that came into the spotlight this summer after the new sealing layer began to peel off, and algae proliferated.
- While each president puts their personal stamp on the decor of the White House, Trump has radically changed the appearance of the building. At least three paintings and a statue in the building illustrate moments after the assassination attempt on Trump in July 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
- Trump has filled the White House with his own portraits. One painting is placed between the official portraits of former First Ladies Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton. Another, displayed in the West Wing, depicts him, Henry Clay, and Abraham Lincoln under the inscription "The Tariff Men." Another work shows Trump alongside Lincoln and Ronald Reagan.
- At the end of last year, the White House inaugurated a "Presidential Celebrities Alley" in the colonnade connecting the West Wing to the White House residence. Golden plaques and framed images of former presidents, including an automatically signed signature (autopen) in place of President Biden's, are examples of the administration's attempts to rewrite history, all in Trump's emblematic color.
- On the occasion of America's 250th anniversary this year, the administration launched what it calls the "Patriot Passport," a special commemorative document bearing Trump's face. The State Department began issuing these passports in July for individuals applying at the passport agency in Washington.
- The annual $80 pass for national parks, intended for residents, looks quite different this year compared to previous years, which featured sequoia trees shrouded in mist, a well-camouflaged frog, or a snow-covered mountainside. Now, it displays Trump's face alongside George Washington's. An environmental group has filed a lawsuit, claiming that the Department of the Interior violated a law stipulating that these passes must feature the winning photograph from an annual contest of images taken on public lands.
- While Trump has made mass deportations a pillar of his domestic agenda, the "Trump Gold Card" offers a special residency permit to foreigners willing to make a "contribution" of one million dollars to the United States. So far, only one person is said to have received this card, the publication notes. A government website announces the imminent launch of the "Trump Platinum Card," which offers tax benefits in exchange for a $5 million payment. Officials have stated that funds collected through these visas will be directed to the Treasury Department.
- Trump's name has appeared in the ".gov" URL of the website promoting the administration's program for children's savings accounts, as well as at the top of the official IRS form that applicants must fill out.
- Two other government websites also bear Trump's name: TrumpRx, launched in February, deals with the costs of prescription drugs, and TrumpIRA promotes a federal retirement savings platform, scheduled to launch in 2027.
- Trump celebrated his 80th birthday on June 14 by attending a UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House. Other Americans were able to watch the event in national parks: the Department of the Interior designated that day as a patriotic day, with free access, exclusively for residents.
- This spring, the Treasury Department announced that Trump's signature will appear on future banknotes - a first for a sitting president. Brandon Beach, the American official in charge of overseeing coin and banknote production, called the initiative "not only appropriate, but fully deserved."
- The border wall, still under construction, a central element of Trump's first presidential campaign, includes plaques featuring his signature.
- In various other areas of the US, local officials have supported initiatives to name streets and highways after the president. While most of these efforts have not materialized, a few have been implemented. Last month, in Tennessee, a bridge named "Trump" was inaugurated, and Palm Beach International Airport was renamed in honor of the president. Trump's sons were among the passengers on the first plane to land at the newly renamed airport.
- Last March, Trump labeled as "intentionally distorted" a portrait of himself that had been displayed at the Colorado State Capitol since 2019. Legislators voted to "immediately" remove the unflattering image. A few months later, the president endorsed the portrait that replaced the previous one.
What Trump has in store for us
The failure of the project at the Kennedy Center taught the president a lesson: "Letters can easily be removed from building facades," said Lawrence Vale, a professor of urban planning at MIT, specializing in capital design and national identity.
- Trump's Arch. Inspired by Napoleon's Arc de Triomphe, the project has sparked discontent among the residents of the US capital, worried that the monument, standing at approximately 76 meters, would disrupt the city's skyline and affect the solemnity of the sacred route connecting the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington National Cemetery. The arch is still in the planning stage, but the president has presented various models to potential donors.
- Trump Ballroom. Trump rejected the idea of a ballroom named "President Donald J. Trump Ballroom," labeling it as "fake news." However, a list of project donors mentioned this name, and high-ranking officials from the White House reportedly also used this name. Regardless of its official name, a completed ballroom right where the East Wing used to be until recently would represent the realization of one of the president's cherished projects and inevitably remain associated with his name.
- Trump Coin. In the history of empires, the practice of dictators putting their image on gold coins is not entirely new. In US history, the last time a sitting president appeared on a coin was 100 years ago when Calvin Coolidge was depicted alongside George Washington on a half-dollar commemorative coin issued on the 150th anniversary of the nation's founding. Last month, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the US Mint would soon begin production of a $1 gold-colored coin featuring Trump's image.
- Trump Banknote. The law regarding the $250 "Donald J. Trump" banknote proposes including the president's image on a new banknote of this value. It is unlikely that the bill will pass the committee stage, as federal law stipulates that only portraits of deceased individuals can appear on US currency. While living individuals have appeared on commemorative coins, like the one announced by Bessent, no living person has been depicted on banknotes since the law was adopted 160 years ago, the publication notes. However, the treasurer reportedly requested prototypes of the $250 banknote, a move that led to the departure of the Director of the Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
- Trump Ships. The Navy's plans for a new fleet of 15 warships of the "Trump" class were announced in December. The project is still far from realization. Earlier this month, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the construction of the first warship would take at least eight years and that the program could cost $275 billion.
- Trump's Numbered Fighter Jet. In a symbolic gesture dedicated to Trump, the Air Force awarded a contract to Boeing in March for the development of the world's first sixth-generation fighter jet, to be named the F-47. "It's a beautiful number," Trump declared when announcing plans for the new aircraft.
Trump's Wish List
Trump and those in his circle who seek to gain favor with him will almost certainly propose new places where his name and image should appear. Many ideas that seemed improbable when initially launched have since been put into practice, the publication notes.
When Kristi Noem first met Trump in the Oval Office, she was a member of Congress from South Dakota, and he told her, "You know, my dream is to have my face on Mount Rushmore," she recounted in a 2018 interview. She remembers laughing at those words; however, the president did not. During a recent visit to the monument, the president and his guests were served cookies aboard Air Force One depicting the five presidents on the mountain, with Trump sketched on the right side of Lincoln.
According to ESPN, last fall Trump was telling those around him that he wants the new stadium for the Commanders team, to be built in the Washington D.C. area, to bear his name. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt did not confirm the rumor but stated, "It would be a beautiful name."
And the airports named after John F. Kennedy (in New York), Ronald Reagan (near Washington D.C.), and George H. W. Bush (in Houston) could serve as sources of inspiration. This is without considering, of course, that each of these airports was renamed after the respective president had passed away or completed their term.
As Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia prepares for a major renovation, Trump expressed his desire for this international air hub to bear his name, as reported by ABC News. There is also a bill ready to be reintroduced that would do just that.
T.D.