A fresh political controversy is shaking the United States after revelations by American media claiming that the president Donald Trump allegedly conditioned the release of federal funds for infrastructure projects on the naming of major public sites after him. According to CNN and NBC, the head of the U.S. executive reportedly demanded that the Democratic Senate leader back the renaming of a major station and an international airport in exchange for permission to provide public funds.
According to these reports, Donald Trump would seek to rename Penn Station in New York as well as the Washington Dulles International Airport, so that they bear his name. The same sources indicate that the president had proposed lifting the freeze on federal funding for a major infrastructure project in New York, provided that the senator Chuck Schumer agrees to facilitate this move. He reportedly rejected the offer.
The maneuver drew strong reactions from the political class. New York Democratic Representative Jerry Nadler described the initiative as a “shakedown operation,” denouncing the instrumentalization of public funds for personal and symbolic purposes.
Meanwhile, the states of New York and New Jersey have filed a lawsuit to obtain the release of federal funding estimated at 16 billion dollars, intended for the construction of a strategic rail tunnel linking the two states. This project is considered crucial for the Northeast United States’ transportation network.
Trump’s initiatives are seen as unprecedented in American political history. Traditionally, public buildings and infrastructure are named after presidents after the end of their term, or even after their death, to avoid direct politicization of institutions. The explicit aim of imposing his name and image during his lifetime breaks with this institutional practice.
Former real estate magnate, Donald Trump has already, in the past, pursued efforts to stamp his mark on iconic projects. In December last year, the Kennedy Center’s board, whose members had been appointed by the president, voted in favor of renaming the cultural complex, originally dedicated to the memory of John F. Kennedy, to become the “Trump-Kennedy Center.”
More recently, Trump’s name was also given to a peace institute in Washington, following a decision by the State Department. Furthermore, the president has spoken of constructing an “Independence Arc,” inspired by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, as well as launching a new concert hall project at the White House, involving the demolition of the East Wing of the building.
Last Thursday, Donald Trump finally announced the launch of a government site offering discounted medicines, named “Trump RX”, adding a new episode to a series of initiatives that fuel the debate on the personalization of power and the political use of public symbols in the United States.
