Operation Enduring Glory
All the Things Trump Is Naming After Himself
Like fragile strongmen everywhere, Donald Trump wants to plaster his name and likeness in as many official places as possible.
Toxic narcissism has led Trump on a crusade to rebrand navy ships, federal buildings, and international airports in his own honor, as well as to splash his face on everything from immigration documents to national park passes to banners draped outside of federal department headquarters. If Trump gets his way, he’ll soon get his face on a gold coin, his signature on U.S. currency, and — who knows — maybe even an NFL stadium named for him.
Below, we survey Trump’s precedent-busting exercise in egocentric excess.
MONUMENTS
Trump has just unveiled plans for a new monument in Washington, D.C. — a 250-foot-tall “Triumphal Arch” that would sit across the Potomac from the Lincoln Memorial. The gaudy, ginormous arch has been pilloried as the Arc de Trump (a play off the Arc de Triomphe in Paris). When asked by a reporter in October who the monument is for, Trump replied simply: “Me.” The arch will reportedly be financed with at least $15 million in taxpayer funds.
BUILDINGS
The Kennedy Center
In December, Trump appended his name to what is now The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. Trump’s cronies on the Kennedy Center board approved the clunky name change; and the institution’s signage and website have been updated to reflect the cultural vandalism. (After high profile artists began boycotting the venue, the Tump-Kennedy Center has now shuttered for a two-year, $275 million overhaul.)
The United States Institute of Peace
After initially seeking to dismantle the nation’s peace institute, and sending DOGE goons there to seize the building, Trump decided in December to rebrand the “bloated, useless entity” as the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace. Trump took this action shortly before he made a hard pivot to war, launching an unprovoked regime-change strike on Venezuela in January and then an illegal war with Iran in March.
SHIPS
Trump Class Battleships
In a preview of his bellicose streak, Trump announced the development of a new type of guided-missile battleship in December — branded as the “Trump Class” and billed as “the most lethal warship to ever be built.” Plans call for launching as many as two dozen of these ships, which would comprise what Trump touts as a “Golden Fleet.”
PORTS
Palm Beach International Airport
The airport closest to Trump’s compound at Mar a Lago will now be known as President Donald J. Trump International Airport. Florida’s loyalist GOP governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation in March directing the name change to go into effect in July. Separately, a road leading to the airport has also been rebranded President Donald J. Trump Boulevard.
FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Trump Gold Card
Trump wants richer immigrants, and the administration has rolled out a red-carpet path to citizenship — in exchange for a cool $1 million contribution to the Treasury. These immigrants obtain a gilded document known as the Trump Gold Card with Trump’s face and signature on it, and a promise that it will enable holders to “unlock life in America.” (A platinum card is supposedly under development.)
Trump Rx
Seeking to put his brand on healthcare, Trump launched Trump Rx, a discount program that touts “most favored nation” pricing for pharmaceuticals — purporting to make them as cheap as what foreign countries pay. The New York Times has found that when it comes to Trump Rx, “the reality does not match his hyperbole,” and the program has been criticized for pushing brand-name drugs for which cheap generics already exist, while providing little improvement over existing private-sector discount programs like GoodRx.
Trump Accounts
Through his “Big Beautiful Bill,” Trump slapped his name on a new retirement account for infants. With Trump Accounts the federal government will put $1,000 in seed money into an IRA created on behalf of children born from 2025 through 2028.
PARKS
National Parks Pass
If you want to vacation a America’s crown jewel national parks you’ll now have to contend with Trump scowling at you every time you flash your America the Beautiful annual pass. (Trump also announced free admission to parks on his birthday, while revoking free admission on Martin Luther King Jr. day and Juneteenth, because racism.)
CURRENCY
Greenbacks
Trump wants to put his autograph on American currency. In March, the Treasury Department announced a plan to print Trump’s signature on legal U.S. tender. “There is no more powerful way to recognize the historic achievements of our great country and President Donald J. Trump than U.S dollar bills bearing his name,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Gold Coins
Flattering a president whose love for gold has seen him transform the Oval Office into a gilded fever dream, the U.S. Mint has unveiled a design for a gold Trump coin, that features a joyless likeness of Trump looking like he needs more fiber in his diet.
BANNERS
Adding to the official cult of personality around Washington, D.C., banners of Trump’s visage have been hung at the Department of Justice…
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… as well as the Department of Labor
BUT WAIT…THERE’S MORE
Trump recently unveiled the design for his skyscraper, the Trump library — billed to be the tallest high-rise in Miami. The “library” may also double as a hotel.
The naming spree may have only just begun. Trump has also lobbied to have the following renamed for his glory:
New York Penn Station
Washington Dulles Airport
The new stadium for the NFL’s Washington Commanders. (That would surely be a beautiful name,” said Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.)
Tim Dickinson is the senior political writer for The Contrarian.
Anything he slaps his name on can be repaired. Anything he slaps his ugly mug on can be repaired. Rebuilding what he has destroyed, including our military, can not so easily be repaired. The damage to the civil service can not so easily be repaired. The damage to the integrity of federal courts can not be so easily repaired. The Augean stable size filth left behind when he leaves office will be if not a Herculean task, a monumental one.
What’s in a name that a Trump building should smell so rank.