Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics A Florida airport is officially renamed for Trump. What does he stand to gain? Florida's Palm Beach International Airport will adopt a new name Thursday to honor President Trump. He'll be the first president to have an airport named after him while in office. National A Florida airport is officially renamed for Trump. What does he stand to gain? July 9, 20264:01 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered By Rachel Treisman A Florida airport is officially renamed for Trump. What does he stand to gain? Listen · 3:47 3:47 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5825868-e1/nx-s1-9842830" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Florida's Palm Beach International Airport will adopt a new name Thursday to honor President Trump. He'll be the first president to have an airport named after him while in office. Sponsor Message Transcript
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
The list of things bearing President Trump's name and likeness, it's growing. Starting today, the airport closest to Trump's south Florida home will be named Donald J. Trump International Airport. The Trump Organization says it will not profit from this renaming. Legal experts, however, see potential loopholes. NPR's Rachel Treisman reports.
RACHEL TREISMAN, BYLINE: PBI is now DJT after Palm Beach International Airport was renamed for President Trump. Trump isn't the only U.S. president to get this distinction. There's John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Ronald Reagan National Airport near D.C., among others.
JAKE LINFORD: As best I can tell, we have 12 airports that have been named after presidents, often after the president is deceased, although not exclusively.
TREISMAN: That's Jake Linford, a professor at the Florida State University College of Law who specializes in copyright and contracts. He says this situation is unique because it's...
LINFORD: One of the few airport naming situations where not only is the person being named still alive, he's also still the president.
TREISMAN: Trump has a tendency to put his name on things, from buildings to battleships to dollar bills. The airport renaming is the result of a Florida law that was passed along party lines and signed by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis in March. When asked about it at the time, DeSantis downplayed concerns about setting a precedent.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
RON DESANTIS: Well, the legislature passed it. And he's a friend of mine. He's a sitting president from Florida, the first one we've ever had from Florida. And so I thought it was appropriate.
TREISMAN: Trump, a lifelong New Yorker, changed his permanent residence to Palm Beach in 2019. He travels to his Mar-a-Lago home regularly through the airport that now bears his name. And the Trump Organization has applied to trademark the name. That's unusual, says Josh Gerben, a trademark attorney in D.C.
JOSH GERBEN: This airport could've been renamed Donald J. Trump International Airport, and Trump Org did not need to own trademarks for this to happen.
TREISMAN: A spokesperson for the Trump Organization told NPR it did so because the Trump brand is a, quote, "frequent target of infringers, counterfeiters and unauthorized users around the world." But that means Palm Beach County needs permission from Trump to use the airport's name.
GERBEN: Because otherwise, they could theoretically be in violation of these trademarks that Trump Org had filed.
TREISMAN: A licensing agreement signed by county commissioners in early May allows the airport to freely use the name on signs, merchandise and more. And it explicitly prohibits Trump from making any money off of merchandise sold by the county or airport. But lawyers see a potential loophole, merchandise sold outside of the airport.
GERBEN: Based on my reading of the agreement, it would seem that if Trump Org wanted to sell merchandise online, that they would be able to do so without any connection to the airport.
TREISMAN: The Trump Organization says the family will not receive, quote, "any financial consideration whatsoever from the airport renaming." The White House did not respond to NPR's requests for comment. And the airport says it doesn't have plans to sell branded merchandise. The licensing agreement gives Trump control over which manufacturers would make the merchandise and how his image is presented. Here's Gerben.
GERBEN: If they don't like some language that describes Trump or his presidency, they'll have to rewrite it.
TREISMAN: He says these extra hoops could increase the cost of the renaming, which airport officials estimate at $5.5 million. The state will cover about half, and the airport says the rest will come from its own revenue sources.
Rachel Treisman, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF SHYGIRL SONG, "HEAVEN") Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{309:function(e,n,o){o.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([o.e(1),o.e(2),o.e(3),o.e(4),o.e(80)]).then((e=>{o(15),o(770),o(154),o(175),o(93),o(448),o(253),o(128),o(130),o(755),o(174),o(756),o(254),o(77),o(774)}).bind(null,o)).catch(o.oe)},783:function(e,n,o){e.exports=o(309)}},[[783,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();