By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
His seemingly successful career in real estate and on television gave us the first clues that this man, now 80 years old, really likes to see his name and/or face, preferably both, in highly visible places.
He obviously pays no heed to that 19th century English proverb that observed, likely in response to the antics of some other politician:
Fools’ names, like fools’ faces,
Are often seen in public places.
Many of us media folks fully expected him to expand his aggressive branding, developed during the building of his private real estate empire, as he began his second term but little did we suspect it would be done on such a massive scale, now exceeding two dozen high profile landmarks, facilities and programs.
Not content with just changing existing names, he also has his name affixed to the planned massive arch proposed near the Capitol that experts say would become a safety hazard for commercial and military aircraft.
Putting his name in front of JFK’s on the Kennedy Center caused quite a ruckus, resulting in a federal court order to remove it because of a lack of congressional approval. Supposedly it has been removed from the building but the space is covered in tarps and we don’t know for sure.
His fondness for his own face brought giant portrait banners to major federal buildings in downtown Washington.
One of my favorites of his ego trips is a state park in New York State. He donated the 436 acres to the state in 2006 but it remains essentially undeveloped, except for a prominent sign bearing his name at the park entrance.
National park visitors already have discovered that the2026 “America the Beautiful” annual passes feature his face alongside George Washington to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States.
You probably have heard about the government website offering cheaper medicines, the issuance of currency, coins and passports with his face or likeness, a high-limit debit card for wealthy tourists, savings accounts, and other tributes financed from the federal treasury.
He wants his face to join those historic national hero figures on Mount Rushmore but, like other worried Americans today, I believe history might tell us we should have chiseled his visage onto the same rockface as Crazy Horse.
Contact Keith at keithkappes@gmail.com.
