A couple of years into his first term as president, Donald Trump went on a tour of Mount Vernon, where he took the opportunity to offer some mild criticism of George Washington: The nation’s first president, Trump argued, was insufficiently focused on branding when naming his Virginia estate.
“If he was smart, he would’ve put his name on it,” the Republicans said. “You’ve got to put your name on stuff, or no one remembers you.” (And really, who even remembers George Washington these days?)
Six years later, it’s unsettling how often we’re reminded that Trump wasn’t kidding. ESPN reported over the weekend:
President Donald Trump wants the Washington Commanders to name their planned $3.7 billion stadium after him, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN. A senior White House source said there have been back-channel communications with a member of the Commanders’ ownership group, led by Josh Harris, to express Trump’s desire to have the domed stadium in the nation’s capital bear his name. The new stadium is being built on the old RFK Stadium site that served as the team’s home from 1961 to 1996.
Soon after, other news organizations published related reports, including The Associated Press and The New York Times. For its part, the White House made little effort to deny the story: Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, in response to inquiries, “That would surely be a beautiful name.”
Taking stock, Trump likes the idea of renaming the Kennedy Center after him. And renaming Dulles Airport after him. And by some accounts, naming the upcoming White House ballroom after him.
What’s more, this is the same president who wants his face on both sides of a commemorative legal-tender coin, and whose White House has made official inquiries into adding Trump to Mt. Rushmore.
It’s not surprising, then, that Trump is lobbying to have a football stadium named after himself; it’s surprising that it took so long for this news to reach the public.
“You’ve got to put your name on stuff, or no one remembers you.” Six years after his Mt. Vernon visit, what the incumbent doesn’t seem to understand is that many people loved George Washington, so he never felt the need to slap his own name on stuff. Others gladly did it for him. Trump, on the other hand, fears being forgotten — which has led him to make pitiful appeals. I’m not in a position to say with any confidence whether the president will get his wish on any of these fronts, but his efforts are a timely reminder to those who might’ve forgotten: Trump’s principal focus is self-aggrandizement and self-glorification, not governing.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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