To the editor: It seems our current president believes that his position in the highest office in the country entitles him to slap his name or desired branding on any building or agency he wishes. The latest is renaming the former U.S. Institute of Peace to be the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace (“Trump is fighting the Institute of Peace in court. Now, his name is on the building,” Dec. 4). This removes the United States from its title, even though Congress created it to be independent and our tax dollars built the building, not President Trump.
This president fails to understand that the buildings in our nation’s capital are not his, but all of ours; we the people, we the taxpayers. And those special monuments and buildings named after notable past presidents — Washington, Lincoln, Kennedy, etc. — were named in honor of their worthy contributions to our nation. Those names were earned and bestowed out of respect, not self-named during the presidents’ terms of office out of self-promotion and aggrandizement.
Please, anyone in power in Washington, stop this attention-craving president from rebranding all of our fair capital city in his name. The potentially illegal destruction of the East Wing to make way for a new ballroom means that anything is possible. What a horror if Washington becomes our version of “Pottersville,” which Mr. Potter renamed from Bedford Falls when George Bailey wasn’t around to stop him in “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Beth Wagner Brust, San Diego
