U.S. President Donald Trump attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 2, 2025. REUTERS Brian Snyder
President Donald Trump putting his face and name on coins and buildings is drawing comparisons to Saddam Hussein, all the way up to the painful, brutal end.
In a panel discussion on Friday, host Antonia Hylton asked political strategist Basil Smikle if he thought Trump was embarrassed by his name coming down.
Smikle remarked, "Talkabout embarrassed in an era ofno shame."
But MS NOW commenter, Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said recent events carried undeniable echoes of another regime that ended very badly. Kamarck commented that Trump's name coming off of the Kennedy Center is "like the Statue of Saddam Hussein being pulled down during the Iraq War." Not merely the removal of it, but the moment of significance that it marked for the people of Iraq.
Hylton was a little surprised by the comment.
"To bring up Saddam Hussein and the all that that represents — that is a major statement. I'm not even saying I disagree with it, but I do think that there are probably millions of people who are waiting for that image today of his name — you can see it right there on your screen, come down from this historic building."
She asked Charlie Sykes why the arts are such a huge thing for Trump, who has never been respected by the performing arts community.
"This really is the audacity of Donald Trump's ego and his and his vanity," explained Sykes. "But also, he does fashion himself as kind of a cultural czar, you know. But here's the guy who is about to hold a UFC cage match at the White House. But he also, you know, has these pretensions to be a culture warrior to, you know, slap his name on this cultural icon."
He said that he wasn't certain whether it would be a great turning point, but he confessed he'd be among those watching the name come down on a loop.
"I have to say that I didn't have this on my bingo card. I thought we'd have to wait until, you know, after he left office to see all the things torn down and taken down and the names removed and all of that. So this is going to be a deeply satisfying thing. And, you know, a hell of a pre-birthday present for Donald Trump if, in fact, this gets taken down as per the law. I mean, the reality is, of course, there are appeals, but the black letter of the law is very, very clear," he closed.