In 1839, not long before President Donald Trump’s favorite, Andrew Jackson, died, an admirer presented him with an ancient Roman sarcophagus, believed to have once held the remains of an emperor.
Jackson declined the offer, saying, “My republican feelings and principles forbid it.” Maybe there’s a lesson in this.
Since Trump returned to the White House a little over a year ago, it seems like every day something new is named after him. The Kennedy Center, the Institute of Peace building, a new class of battleships, Palm Beach airport and, who are we kidding, finally the White House ballroom.
Meanwhile, a giant banner with Trump’s stern features was placed at the Justice Department this week, not the first public building decorated with the president’s face glaring down at us.
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Workers install “Donald J. Trump” above current signage at the Kennedy Center on December 19, 2025 in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)
It all seems to have gone a bit too far, but not for the commonly stated reasons. Instead, the sheer amount of Trump-branded government buildings begins to diminish the significance and impact of them all.
To be clear, there is no risk of a major political backlash from voters if Trump’s name and image are plastered across Washington like posters for a Dave Matthews Band concert. People who hate him call it “Dear Leader” fascism, and people who love him take selfies. Everyone else just shrugs and says, “Well, that’s Trump.”
Culturally, the question of whether naming anything after yourself is rude or inappropriate is subjective and a matter of personal taste. As a priority for voters, this falls somewhere under good taste in music.
And after all, every city has its John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. boulevards, although, to be fair, they were murdered, which is a big plus if your goal is to get things named after you.
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No, the real question is whether this avalanche of eponymous ventures tarnishes or diminishes the president’s legacy, and in the prescient eyes of history, less is often more.
I get it. Trump has spent his life growing buildings out of the ground so he could put his name on them, life-sized and usually made of gold. It is an admirable and very human impulse to leave something lasting behind.
An image behind Trump showed an example of his new ‘Trump class’ battleships. (Jessica Koscielniak/Reuters)
The president was very good at making his mark. Believe me, I lived in New York City for twenty years and you really can’t miss it. But now it turns out that all that glass and steel is thin and ephemeral compared to the man Trump, who, say what you will, will be talked about and debated for centuries to come.
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It is not in the hard metal or cold plastic of physical reality where Trump’s true legacy must now be forged. Rather, it is in the invisible fire of the future where the man, and not the buildings, will be judged.
Trump has the chance for immortality with his bold vision, not only in America but around the world. He is said to be the most influential figure of the early 21st century. We don’t need to name every courthouse and rest stop 1-95 after him.
President Donald Trump and President Andrew Jackson (Getty Images)
In fact, throwing your name everywhere in giant fonts is exactly the kind of eccentric behavior that has been mocked for thousands of years. Just as Caligula threatens to make his horse consul of Rome, it will be used by many to suggest narcissistic mania in Trump because it is already being used that way.
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Trump will never be the modest Abe Lincoln type with the scarf and the “No one will remember my speech” attitude. That’s cool, his bragging is nice. But I don’t want to live in a world where I’m checking my Trump watch to see if it’s time for a Trump burger on the way to Trump’s airport.
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It turned out that “Old Hickory” Andrew Jackson would be buried in a simple pine coffin, although the old treasure he refused is still kept by the Smithsonian. And instead of paying tribute to him with a marble masterpiece, we keep small photos of him in our pockets.
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More importantly, our current Commander in Chief continues to tap into Jackson’s strength and values to this day, whether he is a Roman sarcophagus or not.
The more things we name after Trump, the less it means, and the more it feels forced when it doesn’t have to. No one, including Trump, needs to convince us that he is a figure of historic proportions. When you see it advertised over and over again, it all starts to seem a bit cheap.
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