Donald Trump administration officials have reportedly discussed putting the president's name on Ford's Theatre, the Washington landmark where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, although the White House and Interior Department deny that such a plan is under consideration.
Officials have been circulating possible government properties that could carry Trump's name, with Ford's Theatre among the locations discussed, MS NOW reported, citing people familiar with the conversations. One administration official confirmed to the outlet that the idea had been raised but said they did not know its current status.
It was also unclear whether officials were considering formally renaming the theatre or simply adding Trump's name to it in some way.
White House Denies Ford's Theatre Plan
The White House denied the report. 'This story is completely false,' White House spokesman Davis Ingle told MS NOW, while an Interior Department spokesperson separately said: 'This is not true.'
Ford's Theatre and the Petersen House across the street, where Lincoln died the morning after he was shot, form part of Ford's Theatre National Historic Site, which is co-managed by the National Park Service and the Ford's Theatre Society.
Congress formally established the historic site in 1970 to preserve the location of Lincoln's assassination and death. The theatre itself remains both a working performance venue and a memorial to the 16th US president.
Lincoln was attending a performance of Our American Cousin on 14 April 1865 when actor and Confederate sympathiser John Wilkes Booth entered the presidential box and shot him. Lincoln died the following morning.
Renaming Could Face Legal Hurdles
Any attempt to formally change the historic site's federally designated name could face a significant obstacle because Congress established it through legislation.
MS NOW reported that formally renaming the federally designated site would probably require an act of Congress, although exactly what administration officials were contemplating remains unclear.
The discussions come as Trump and his allies have pursued efforts to attach his name to other prominent institutions and public projects.
The most high-profile dispute has involved Washington's Kennedy Center. A Trump-aligned board previously added his name to the institution, but a federal judge ruled in May that only Congress could rename the centre and ordered the name removed.
The board later pursued another plan to inscribe Trump's name on the building and name its grounds after him, but the judge blocked that effort this month while the litigation continues.
Republican lawmakers have also previously proposed legislation to rename Washington Dulles International Airport after Trump, while other potential naming ideas involving government property have circulated during his second term.
Historic Theatre Has Hosted Trump Before
Trump himself has previously visited Ford's Theatre and publicly reflected on its historical significance. Speaking at the Ford's Theatre Gala on 2 June 2019, during his first presidency, Trump reflected on the historic surroundings.
'What a place,' Trump said. 'You look right there, and that says it all. That's history at its highest.'
The latest report does not establish that Trump personally requested Ford's Theatre be renamed or that a formal proposal has been developed. For now, the idea remains an anonymously sourced account of internal discussions — one that the White House and Interior Department both publicly deny.
