President Donald Trump's fixation on adding his name to major landmarks is presenting numerous problems both for himself and his party.
That's according to a Friday analysis by CNN's Aaron Blake, who argued that Trump is spending a significant amount of political capital on self-aggrandizement that Republicans are likely wishing he would use for other purposes. Blake noted that Trump's attempt to hold $16 billion hostage meant for an underwater railway project connecting New York and New Jersey via the Hudson River in exchange for renaming Washington Dulles International Airport and New York's Penn Station was a non-starter with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). The top Senate Democrat reportedly reminded the president that he does not have the authority to unilaterally change the names of airports and railway stations.
According to Blake, Trump could have tried to pressure Schumer into backing a conservative policy position – like relenting in the ongoing dispute over Department of Homeland Security funding, for example — in exchange for the $16 billion. Instead, Trump apparently chose to freeze the funding for his own vanity, per Blake's analysis.
"His proposition to Schumer practically slaps you across the face in its degree of blatant self-dealing," Blake wrote. "Republicans should probably start asking themselves how much they’re willing to entertain this level of self service."
Blake went on to point out that the polls are not on Trump's side when it comes to renaming things. Last year, roughly two-thirds of Americans polled by Ipsos disagreed with Trump's decision to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America." And a CNN poll from January found that 62 percent of respondents thought Trump had "gone too far" in "making changes to cultural institutions such as the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian."
That same CNN poll also found that 63 percent of Americans disagreed with the statement that Trump "puts the good of the country above his own personal gain." And only 33 percent of those polled agreed with the statement that Trump "cares about people like you."
"[E]ven beyond the 'yuck' factor, there’s good reason to believe this is a rather poorly conceived move," Blake wrote. "Indeed, Trump’s efforts to glorify himself appear to be a major and growing problem for him right now."