Several weeks ago, I wrote about how Florida lawmakers proposed renaming an airport after President Trump. Well, this proposal has now passed the Florida Legislature, so it’s very likely to become a reality.
Lawmakers vote to rename airport after President Trump
In November 2025, Republican Florida State Representative Meg Weinberger introduced a proposal to rename Palm Beach International Airport to Donald J. Trump International Airport. As she explained in a statement:
“President Trump is the most consequential president of our lifetime and a resident of Palm Beach County, which makes it only fitting to honor him, like many other presidents before him, by naming our airport Donald J. Trump International.”
A vote took place on this in the Florida Legislature this week, and it passed with a strictly partisan vote. This includes an 81-30 vote in the House, and a 25-11 vote in the Senate. Now Florida Governor Ron DeSantis just has to sign off on this, and then the renaming can happen, as it’s expected to take effect as of July 1, 2026. Around $5.5 million has been allocated for implementing the renaming, including updated signage and branding.
This isn’t Weinberger’s first bill to rename something after Trump. In February 2025, Weinbeger co-sponsored bill HB 987, to rename a four mile stretch of Southern Boulevard in Palm Beach County (near Mar-a-Lago) after Trump.
I do wonder if this airport is “enough” for Trump, or if he’s going to hold out for a bigger airport being named after him (or who knows, I guess there could be multiple airports). For example, Trump also wants Washington Dulles Airport (IAD) to be named after him.
Last week, Trump had filed several applications to the US Parent and Trademark Office, covering at least three variations of names that airports could use, including the name that’s in the bill for Palm Beach International Airport.
Currently, more than 10 commercial airports in the United States are named after former presidents, including New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK), Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA), Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Grand Rapids’ Gerald Ford Airport (GRR), and Little Rock’s Clinton National Airport (LIT), among others.
I’m not a fan of airports being named after politicians
My opinion on this is the same as it has been about every proposal to rename an airport after a politician, whether a Democrat, Republican, or whatever (and if you don’t believe me, see my post about Las Vegas being renamed after Democrat Harry Reid).
I’m just no a fan of airports being named after politicians:
- Why can’t we just keep airport names simple, and name them after their location, or the cities or regions they serve? There’s no need to complicate things
- It’s one thing to name an airport after someone a vast majority of people can agree on, but to me it’s a bit different to name an airport after a politician, which is always going to be divisive
- At some point this renaming stuff just comes down to partisan politicians ruling in favor of one politician over another, and that just seems like a rabbit hole that’s better avoided
But at this point over 10 airports in the United States have been named after presidents, so I guess there’s no reason to stop now…
Bottom line
In November 2025, a Florida lawmaker proposed renaming Palm Beach International Airport after Donald Trump. Given that the Florida Legislature is Republican, it’s not surprising that this has just passed, and now they’re just waiting on Governor DeSantis to sign off on this. This is far from the first time that an airport will be named after a president, even if it’s a practice that I find to be rather questionable.
