There’s nothing Donald Trump loves more than Donald Trump ― a platitude even Vice President JD Vance conceded last week, when he warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that offering Trump anything other than flattery “is an atrocious way to deal with this administration.”
Ever since the election, Republican lawmakers have taken their adulation to the extreme in what’s become a weird competition of who can debase themselves the most.
Here’s a quick and not-at-all-exhaustive list of how GOP lawmakers in federal, state and local governments are looking to suck up to the president:
- In West Virginia, the House of Delegates is considering renaming the state’s highest peak, currently known as Spruce Knob, to “Trump Mountain.” (Remember when Trump claimed Democrats would rename Pennsylvania if he lost? Turns out that was probably a projection. See also: Gulf of Mexico, Denali.)
- In California, the Huntington Beach City Council decided to spend $7,000 on a commemorative plaque at the public library with the slogan, “Magical, Alluring, Galvanizing, Adventurous.”
The phrase ― with an unmistakable acronym ― is not in any way connected to the city or library. According to KLTA, the City Council decided after the fact to spend $1,000 more on a floodlight to illuminate the plaque in an effort to deter vandals.
Ex-NFL player Chris Kluwe went viral for speaking against the plaque and the MAGA “Nazi movement” at a city council meeting last Tuesday.
- In Florida, State Rep. Danny Nix Jr. has proposed renaming the stretch of U.S. Route 98 that passes by Mar-a-Lago to “President Donald J. Trump Boulevard.” If approved, it would be the second stretch of asphalt bearing Trump’s name: The state has a “President Donald J. Trump Avenue” in the Miami-Dade area, which may lead to some confusion.
- Tennessee State Rep. Todd Warner introduced a bill there attempting to rename the Nashville International Airport in Trump’s honor. Axios Nashville is skeptical the effort will ever leave the ground, however, 63% of voters in the city voted for Vice President Kamala Harris last November.
Republicans in the U.S. House are somehow even more obsequious.
What was once an equal branch of government intended to keep the executive in check has instead transformed into a bunch of servile nincompoops.
In June 2024, before Trump had even been elected, Rep. Greg Steube of Florida attempted to rename the maritime area that extends 200 miles off the U.S. coast to the “Donald John Trump Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States.”
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That same month, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) introduced a bill requiring the Treasury to start printing $500 bills, each featuring a portrait of Trump. (Never mind the 1886 law that prohibits featuring living persons on money because we’re not a monarchy.)
Other House reps have also proposed renaming Greenland “Red, White, And Blueland;” adding Trump to Mt. Rushmore; encouraging Trump “to acquire Greenland immediately;” authorizing Trump to “repurchase” the Panama canal; making it legal for Trump to seek a third term; and making Trump’s birthday a federal holiday.