Donald Trump really has a way of getting under the skin of Democrats, and boy, did he get them a few times this week.
It all got started when the Kennedy Center board “unanimously” voted to add Trump’s name to the building.
Then the president announced a new battleship class, which will be named after, well, you guessed it, Donald Trump.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is considered a memorial building, clearly honoring the former president.
As such, the name of the building can only be changed via an act of Congress, per federal law.
The board of the center paid that no mind, voting to add Trump’s name to the building, and if pictures are accurate, Trump’s name has not only been added, but it now sits atop the Kennedy name.
Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) has already filed suit to have Trump’s name removed, with her complaint stating, “Congress intended the Center to be a living memorial to President Kennedy and a crown jewel of the arts for all Americans, irrespective of party. Unless and until this Court intervenes, Defendants will continue to defy Congress and thwart the law for improper ends.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) also had a fit, stating that he was going to introduce legislation to ensure no federal buildings could be adorned with the name of a sitting president.
He responded to the move on X, stating, “What arrogance. What narcissism. I will be introducing legislation prohibiting the naming of federal buildings after sitting presidents.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) also commented, noting that the renaming of the center is illegal. Center interim president Richard Grenell pushed back, stating, “The decision of the Trump Kennedy Center Board doesn’t impact the Memorial to Kennedy set up by Congress.”
So, I guess we will see what the courts have to say about this.
Trump appears to want to slap his name on just about everything he can right now, also announcing a new class of battleship, an honor that is also generally reserved for a naval hero or president who is no longer in office. Traditionally, the class of ships also takes on the name of the first ship, which in this case, will be the USS Defiant.
The president announced the new Trump-class of battleships, stating, “They will have 100 times the force, the power [of earlier warships], and there’s never been anything like these ships. These have been under design consideration for a long time, and it started with me and my first term.”
Trump later added, “These cutting-edge vessels will be some of the most lethal Surface Warfare ships. Each one of these will be the largest battleship in the history of our country, the largest battleship in the history of the world ever built.”
Unlike the Kennedy Center, I do not believe there is any legal reason that Trump would not be permitted to do this. But by the time these ships are built, Trump will be out of office, so I guess we will have to wait and see if "Trump-class" holds up or not. Regardless, this is just the president poking Democrats to prove to the American people that no matter what he does, the left will push back.
