Shady trademark raises alarm Trump will bilk Florida taxpayers for renamed airport

The way is clear for Palm Beach County International Airport to be renamed after Donald Trump, but despite his claims, suspicions remain that taxpayers will be footing the bill for the latest example of his name-changing crusade.

The Republican-controlled Florida State House recently passed a bill that will rename the airport closest to the president's Mar-a-Lago residence to "Donald J. Trump International Airport." According to a Friday report from USA Today, Trump and the Trump Organization have insisted that the county will be allowed to use his name for the airport "at no charge," further citing the recently renamed "President Donald J. Trump Boulevard" as an example of his willingness to offer up his name to his home county.

Despite that assurance, a registration at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office around the same time as the Florida State House vote has given observers reason to doubt those claims. In the filing, the Trump Organization trademarked the title, "President Donald J. Trump International Airport." It also trademarked the president's initials, "DJT," which would be the most likely new code for the airport.

Opponents of Trump and the name change argue that, with these trademarks in play, Palm Beach County would be required to pay a licensing fee to use its impending new name. The Trump Organization has further insisted that it would "not receive any royalty, licensing fee or financial consideration whatsoever from the proposed airport renaming," according to USA Today, and the State House bill contains language to that effect. Some critics, however, remain unconvinced.

“I don’t understand why this continues to be an issue,” state Rep. Meg Weinberger, a Palm Beach Gardens Republican who co-sponsored the airport bill. The language, she stressed, grants the county "the perpetual and unrestricted right to use the name 'President Donald J. Trump International Airport,'" at no cost for things like "signage, advertising, marketing, merchandising, and promotions and for the branding of the airport and its operations," USA Today noted.

State Rep. Kelly Skidmore, a Boca Raton Democrat, argued that despite the bill's wording, the county could still potentially be charged licensing fees. She also questioned why the Trump organization trademarked an airport name in the first place if this was not their intention. The organization claimed that the filing was merely meant to protect Trump's name from being infringed upon.

Other critics of the bill have decried the name change being pushed through without a suitable period for public comment. Some also say that the matter should not have been raised in the first place until Trump leaves office.

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