In what might be a first in US history, an incumbent president has a building in the nation’s capital named after him.
The Washington Post reports the headquarters of the US Institute of Peace (USIP) has the name “Donald J. Trump” attached to its façade. An unnamed White House official has confirmed the building is officially renamed as the “Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace.”
Ironically, the Trump administration has worked to dismantle the USIP, which was established in 1984 by Congress as an independent nonprofit designed to support the Executive Branch in resolving violent global conflicts. Trump issued an executive order in February to shut down USIP, with nearly all its staff fired and its president removed from the headquarters by law enforcement officers. A federal district court ruling in May stated Trump had acted unlawfully, but the order is stayed pending appeal; the building has been mostly vacant during this period.
The new name for the building comes ahead of today’s scheduled meeting between Trump and leaders from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, who are in Washington to sign a peace deal coordinated by the White House.
Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, stated in an email that the USIP was “once a bloated, useless entity that blew $50 million per year while delivering no peace,” adding that its new name was justified in view of the Trump administration’s foreign policy achievements.
“Now, the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, which is both beautifully and aptly named after a President who ended eight wars in less than a year, will stand as a powerful reminder of what strong leadership can accomplish for global stability,” Kelly said.
Photo by Something Original / Wikimedia Commons
