The reports that President Donald Trump's aides are now looking at putting his name on Ford's Theatre are not going over well with the city's residents and top politicos who remain residents after their time in public office.
Conservative Bill Kristol took to X to complain, "Donald Trump is a sick man. You almost feel you can't hold him fully responsible for his deep psychological deformities. I have more contempt for his aides who, humoring him, feed his illness and encourage him to do symbolic and real damage to the nation."
Kristol was not alone in his outrage.
"What is this dudes obsession with putting his name everywhere?" asked one Navy veteran with over 200,000 followers, who monitors global conflicts on X.
The influential "Wu Tang is for the children," quipped that it's a solution that "will definitely help lower diesel prices." Diesel prices have been going up since Trump went to war with Iran.
One person suggested that Trump "stick to Florida" when it comes to naming things after himself. Trump famously got local officials to rename the federal airport after himself.
Political writer Mona Burns questioned if it was even real. "This is so ridiculous that it has to be distraction desperation."
Financial analyst and political independent Steven Thomas joked, "Apple and Google are ready for the name change."
The theater was once the First Baptist Church of Washington until entrepreneur John T. Ford leased the building in 1961 and turned into a music hall called Ford’s Athenaeum, the website's history details. It is now a federally-owned property with the U.S. Department of the Interior and National Park Service managing it.
Trump has failed to add his name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, resulting in public outbursts by the president claiming he may simply rip it down. A federal judge has now stepped in to block both Trump's name, likeness or anything else being attached to the building. Ford's Theatre appears to be his latest alternative.
One person with knowledge told MS NOW it would be an easier legal pathway than the Kennedy Center. While the federal government (NPS) owns and preserves the building and the house nearby where Lincoln was taken and pronounced dead, the non-profit Ford's Theatre Society manages the live productions and arts programming.
A formal change to put Trump’s name into the official name of Ford’s Theatre would almost certainly require Congress to pass a new federal law as the official designation of the site comes from a 1970 statute. That is unlikely unless Republicans can accomplish it during the post-election session. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) sent members home early last week with no return date before the Nov. 3 election. Among the first things that must be voted on once they return is the impeachment of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
The MS NOW report summarized a list of things Trump has put his name on since taking office for the second time.
"In addition to the Kennedy Center, his appointees have renamed the U.S. Institute of Peace for him; put his likeness on U.S. passports, an NPS pass and a 24-karat gold $1 coin; hung large banners adorned with his face outside the departments of Justice, Labor and Agriculture; moved ahead with plans for a 250-foot “triumphal” arch near Arlington National Cemetery; discussed opening a promenade at the Lincoln Memorial; demolished the East Wing of the White House to make way for a new ballroom built to his specifications; and paved over the White House’s Rose Garden for a Mar-a-Lago-style patio," the list read.
There are other discussions about Trump changing the names of New York's Penn Station and the Dulles International Airport in Virginia. Even the new Washington Commanders stadium is on the list of possible sites for Trump's self-promotion.
