Florida Republicans pass bill renaming Palm Beach airport after Trump

Democrats in Florida have condemned Republican colleagues in the state legislature who approved the renaming of the airport in West Palm Beach the “President Donald J Trump International Airport”, less than a week after lawyers for Trump sought to trademark the name.

Only the signature of Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, now stands before a renaming ceremony at the airport less than six miles from the US president’s waterfront Mar-a-Lago mansion and private resort club in Palm Beach.

Currently known as Palm Beach International, the airport is frequented by Trump on Air Force One on most weekends during the winter season. The president is then driven to and from his residence along a stretch of road renamed Donald J Trump Boulevard in January in another act of homage by the Florida legislature.

The airport bill passed the Florida house by 81 votes to 30 on Tuesday in a strictly partisan vote after vocal pushback from a number of Democratic state representatives. It was then swiftly ushered through by state senators two days later.

The Democratic US congresswoman Lois Frankel, whose district covers a large swathe of Palm Beach county, including Palm Beach island where Trump lives when he is not in the White House, said she was outraged at the chamber’s decision to approve the name change.

“It’s misguided and unfair that the Republican-controlled Florida legislature ignored the voices of Palm Beach county by pushing forward a bill to rename Palm Beach international airport without giving county residents a real opportunity for input,” she said in a statement.

“Decisions about naming major infrastructure should wait until after an honoree’s service has concluded – and should include meaningful input from the local residents and communities most directly affected.”

Trump last week filed several applications to the US Patent and Trademark Office covering at least three variations of names that airports could use, including the one in the bill co-sponsored by the Palm Beach Gardens Republican Meg Weinberger.

“This is the president’s home town, he lives five miles away from the airport,” Weinberger said during Tuesday’s debate.

The Trump Organization, the sprawling family business empire, has portrayed the trademark move as a way of “protecting” the president’s name and brand, and insisted Trump was not seeking to profit from the renaming.

In a statement to the Palm Beach Post, the Trump Organization said he “will not receive any royalty, licensing fee or financial consideration whatsoever”, and said that the bill requires a licensing agreement to Palm Beach county which it would provide “at no charge”.

The final text of the senate bill, in fact, makes no mention of, or requirement for license approval. It states only that the airport’s name will be changed effective 1 July.

Kelly Skidmore, a Democrat representing Palm Beach county in the state legislature, told the Post she questioned why the Trump Organization would make the effort to trademark the airport’s new name if it was not seeking to make money from it, and said the company could still decide to charge a licensing fee.

Meanwhile, Republican Debbie Mayfield, the bill’s senate co-sponsor, acknowledged that Trump was free to make money if he wanted to.

“The Trump name has been trademarked for quite a while. If you start telling him that he can’t merchandise, that is actually a free market [violation]. So, there’s nothing in this bill that says he can’t merchandise his own stuff,” she said, as reported by the Miami Herald.

The trademark application, which is pending, incorporates a wealth of travel-related “goods and services” the president could monetize with Trump branding, including suitcases and carry-on bags, as well as airport facilities such as shuttle buses and passenger jetways.

While the Palm Beach county commission owns and governs the airport, the bill exerts legislation pre-emption, a doctrine that gives the state authority to override local control and seize naming rights.

The renaming must also win the blessing of the Federal Aviation Administration, a step expected to be a formality under the leadership of administrator Bryan Bedford, a Trump friend and ally.