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Florida renamed Palm Beach International Airport for President Trump under a law giving his company perpetual free use of the name

On July 9, 2026, Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida — a county-owned public airport serving more than 8 million passengers a year, minutes from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate — officially became President Donald J. Trump International Airport, the first U.S. airport renamed for a sitting president. The renaming was carried out under a Florida law that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in March 2026, which requires an agreement granting Trump and his organization "perpetual and unrestricted" use of the name at no cost. Trump's trademark-licensing company, DTTM Operations, had filed multiple applications on the new name in February 2026, before the enabling bill became law.

Jurisdiction
Florida
Location
West Palm Beach, Florida

Abuses documented

Actors

On July 9, 2026, Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida officially became President Donald J. Trump International Airport, the first time a U.S. airport has been renamed for a sitting president. The county-owned facility, which serves more than 8 million passengers a year and sits minutes from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, adopted the new name after the Federal Aviation Administration authorized the change; passengers will continue to see the PBI airport code for now, though officials have sought the new DJT code.

The renaming was carried out under a Florida law that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in March 2026. The law requires a licensing agreement giving Trump and his organization "perpetual and unrestricted" use of the airport's new name at no cost. Trump's trademark-licensing company, DTTM Operations, had filed multiple trademark applications on the name — including "DJT," "Donald J. Trump International Airport," and "President Donald J. Trump International Airport" — in February 2026, before the enabling bill was signed into law. A Trump Organization spokesperson said the president and his family would receive no royalty, licensing fee, or other financial consideration from the renaming, while legal observers noted the trademark filings could still support merchandise sales and branded airport services.

The renaming extends a pattern of attaching the president's name to public infrastructure near Mar-a-Lago; a four-mile stretch of road linking the estate to the airport was separately renamed for Trump in January 2026, and a Tennessee bridge was renamed for him the same day as the airport.

Why we recorded this

Public office exists to serve the public, not to enrich the officials who hold it. Florida renamed a county-owned public airport for a sitting president under a law that requires giving his family company perpetual, cost-free use of the name, and the company had filed trademark applications on the new name months before the enabling bill was signed. This archive records when public power and public assets are turned to the private benefit of an officeholder, because converting a shared civic resource into a personal brand blurs the line between public service and private gain.

Sources

  1. Florida's Palm Beach airport renamed for Trump — CNBC primary accessed July 10, 2026
  2. Florida's PBI renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport — NPR primary accessed July 10, 2026
  3. Palm Beach Airport Renamed Donald J. Trump International With New DJT Code — Bloomberg secondary accessed July 10, 2026

See also