2025

By Tim Reid

WASHINGTON, Dec 31 (Reuters) – As a New York businessman, President Donald Trump put his name on real estate, golf courses, vodka, steaks, bottled water and his own university.

As president in his second term, he is merging his personal brand with national institutions and government programs, an unusual assertion of power by a sitting U.S. president.

Since returning to office in January, the Republican president has affixed his name to prominent Washington buildings, a planned class of Navy warships, a visa program for wealthy foreigners, a government-run prescription drug website, and federal savings accounts for children.

Some historians see it as a superficial legacy-building effort by the president that may not stand the test of time. A backlash has already begun against the renaming of Washington’s premier performance venue as the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, with several acts canceling in protest.

“I don’t think the naming or renaming guarantees that Trump’s name will be affixed to those things until time immemorial,” said Austin Sarat, a professor of jurisprudence and political science at Amherst College, who questioned whether Trump’s name would remain if Democrats regain power.

Elizabeth Huston, a White House spokeswoman, said the administration was not focused on “smart branding, but delivering on President Trump’s goal of Making America Great Again.”

“Drug pricing agreements, overdue upgrades of national landmarks, lasting peace deals, and wealth-creation accounts for children are historic initiatives that would not have been possible without President Trump’s bold leadership,” she said in an emailed statement.

TRUMP-KENNEDY CENTER

The first year of Trump’s second White House term has seen a shock-and-awe policy blitz that expanded presidential power, remade some parts of the federal bureaucracy and economy, and reshaped America’s relations with the world.

But one of the most striking features of the past 11 months has been the energy and attention Trump has given to placing his name on buildings and government programs.

Trump’s populist moves have alarmed Democrats and civil society watchdogs who worry they create the impression that Trump, rather than the state, is the provider of essential services. Defenders say what Trump is doing is simply an extension of his decades as a savvy marketer.

The biggest outcry came this December when his name was added to the Kennedy Center, named for the late Democratic president in 1964 by an act of Congress to honor him after his assassination.

The center was renamed by its board of trustees, a majority of whom were appointed by Trump.

Just up the Potomac River sits the U.S. Institute of Peace, a government-funded think tank established by Congress and focused on conflict avoidance.

On December 3 the U.S. State Department renamed it the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, based on Trump’s assertion he has ended eight wars, a claim widely disputed given ongoing conflicts in several of those hotspots. Trump’s name has been affixed to the building’s exterior.

Washington has many buildings and monuments named after presidents, but that has traditionally occurred well after they have left office and are normally national tributes to them, often established by Congress.

Julian Zelizer, a presidential historian at Princeton University, said while previous presidents were not shy in reminding voters they were responsible for popular policies, including stimulus money or infrastructure programs, “that’s very different to what you’re seeing today.”

“It’s a lot easier to get your name on a building or a ship than to pass legislation that’s enduring,” Zelizer said. In terms of a lasting legacy, however, “it’s very thin.”

‘TRUMP-CLASS’ WARSHIPS

Trump has announced a plan for a new generation of U.S. Navy warships, which he called “Trump-class” battleships and said he will be personally involved in the designs.

If Trump’s name appears on any of the ships, or “Trump-class” becomes an official Navy designation for the new battleships, a later name change would be a first, Zelizer said.

But Trump’s announcement does not guarantee the ships will be built. The Navy has canceled shipbuilding programs in the past, and the Trump-class ships are still in the design phase of a process that typically takes many years.

Trump’s tax and spending cut bill passed in July created a new type of tax-advantageous savings accounts for children, which are now called on the Internal Revenue Service’s website “Trump Accounts.”

As the accounts were created by an act of Congress, changing their name will likely need congressional approval.

In October, the U.S. Treasury shared draft designs for $1 coins featuring images of Trump to commemorate the 250th anniversary of America’s declaration of independence from Great Britain. It has not been confirmed if the Trump coin will be issued next year.

The Trump administration also launched the “Trump Gold Card”, a new immigrant visa program allowing wealthy foreign investors an expedited path to permission to live in the U.S., and , a website offering reduced prices for prescription drugs that will likely launch in 2026.

Even plans for the U.S. Air Force’s new fighter jet, the F-47 – while not bearing Trump’s name – partly refer to the 47th president, the Air Force said.

Trump called F-47 a “beautiful number.”

(Reporting by Tim Reid in Washington, editing by Ross Colvin and Alistair Bell)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is not the first president to want more room at the White House for entertaining, says the longest-serving top aide in the executive residence, offering some backup for the reason Trump has cited for his ballroom construction project.

Gary Walters spent more than two decades as White House chief usher to presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush — a role that is akin to being the general manager of the residence.

“All the presidents that I had an opportunity to serve always talked about some possibility of an enlarged area” for entertaining, Walters said in an interview with The Associated Press about his recently published memoir.

Trump has been talking about building a White House ballroom for years, even before he entered the political arena. In July, the White House announced a 90,000-square-foot space would be built on the east side of the complex to accommodate 650 seated guests at a then-estimated cost of $200 million. Trump has said it will be paid for with private donations, including from him.

The Republican president later upped the proposed ballroom’s capacity to 999 people and, by October, had demolished the two-story East Wing of the White House to build it there. In December, he updated the price tag to $400 million — double the original estimate.

Some historians, preservationists and others, complained about images of the East Wing being demolishedbut, but Walters said there is a long history of projects on the campus, ranging from conservatories, greenhouses and stables being torn down to build the West Wing in 1902, to the expansion of the residence with a third floor, to the addition of the East Wing itself during World War II to provide workspace for the first lady, her staff and other White House offices.

“So there’s always been construction going on around the White House,” Walters said.

When Walters was on the job, the capacity of the largest public rooms in the White House was among the first topics he discussed with the incoming president, first lady and their social secretary, he said. The presidents he served all talked about the limited number of people the White House could handle.

When set up for a state dinner, the State Dining Room can hold about 130 people: 13 round tables each with seating for 10, Walters said. The East Room can accommodate about 300 chairs — fewer if space is needed for television cameras.

Trump complains often that both rooms are too small. He also has complained about the use of large tents on the south grounds, the main workaround for big events such as ritzy state dinners for foreign leaders. Walters said the tents had issues.

“When it rained, the water flows downhill and the grass became soggy, no matter what we tried to do,” Walters said. “We dug culverts around the outside of the tent to try and get the water.” Tents damaged the grass, requiring more work to reseed it, he said.

Walters admitted it was a bit jarring to see the East Wing torn down, and said he had fond personal memories of the space. “I met my wife at the White House and she worked in the East Wing, so that was a joy for me,” said Walters, 79.

His wife, Barbara, was a receptionist in the visitors office during the administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. The couple recently celebrated 48 years of marriage.

Walters owes his place in history as the longest-serving White House chief usher to the misfortune of a broken ankle.

He was 23 in early 1970, honorably discharged from the Army and looking for a job that would allow him to finish college at night. The Executive Protective Service, a precursor to the U.S. Secret Service, was hiring and accepted him.

But shortly before the graduation ceremony, Walters broke an ankle playing football. He could not patrol out of uniform, wearing a cast and hobbling around on crutches, so he was given a temporary assignment in the White House Police Control and Appointments Center. He stayed for five years.

“This injury also changed the course of my career,” Walters wrote in his memoir, “White House Memories: 1970-2007: Recollections of the Longest-Serving Chief Usher.” He gained an ”in-depth knowledge of the ways and security systems of the White House that would ultimately greatly benefit me in my future role in the Usher’s Office.”

A few months after being promoted to sergeant in 1975, he learned of an opening in the Usher’s Office. He applied and joined as an assistant in early 1976.

A decade later, he was elevated to chief usher by Reagan, who gave Walters the top job in the residence overseeing maintenance, construction and renovation projects, and food service, along with administrative, financial and personnel functions. He managed a staff of about 90 butlers, housekeepers, cooks, florists, electricians, engineers, plumbers and others.

Walters retired in 2007 after 37 years at the White House, including a record 21 years as chief usher. He served under seven presidents, from Nixon to George W. Bush.

In that time, Walters saw a broad swath of presidential history: the only president who ever resigned, an appointed vice president become the only unelected president, a president be impeached and stay in office, a father and son become president and the Supreme Court decide the most closely contested presidential election in U.S. history.

He’s often asked what he liked most about his work and “without hesitation I say it is getting to know and interact directly with the president, first lady, and other members of their family. It was an honor to get to know them with my own eyes and ears,” Walters wrote.

PHOTO- Former White House chief usher Gary Walters, author of “White House Memories,” is interviewed about his book, in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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