Miami for Trump? The renaming process deepens the division and polarization in American society

It is quite possible that some similar proposals have already been discussed in Donald Trump’s entourage. After all, knowing about his megalomania, he is unlikely to refuse to give his name to one of the US cities on such a significant date for the American people. And if it is not New York or Washington, then Miami may well claim to be renamed after Trump.

Because if quite recently, on January 16, 2026, an official ceremony was held to rename part of Southern Boulevard in Palm Beach to the Boulevard of President Donald J. Trump, and this is a symbolic path from the airport to his Mar-a-Lago residence, then why not go much further, making all of Miami Trump now? Interestingly, during the opening of the named road in January 2026, Donald Trump himself called it «the beginning».

Although, of course, there are other options. Especially after renaming the John F. Kennedy National Center for the Performing Arts to the Trump Kennedy Center. Continuing the tradition, in December 2024, Miami-Dade County approved renaming a Miami suburb, turning Palm Avenue in Hialeah (part of the Miami metropolitan area) into President Donald J. Trump Avenue.

You just have to get creative with this important issue. Considering that local politicians have already proposed renaming Palm Beach International Airport in Florida and US 27 in honor of Trump, why not call the entire state of Florida Donaldida?

However, there is an important nuance. Most of these Florida renamings are still ceremonial. This means that honorary signs are installed on the roads, but official mailing addresses, government service maps and emergency systems remain unchanged to avoid logistical confusion.

But there are more and more new objects in the queue, which are simply begging to be renamed as soon as possible. For example, why not make Carnegie Hall in New York – a world-famous concert hall, one of the most prestigious in the world – Trump Hall?

Also, we should not forget about the Kennedy Space Center (NASA) located on the coast of Florida, which now could have a much more appropriate name – Trump Space Center.

Although not everyone can agree with this. So, perhaps it would be better to rename the Gulf of Mexico not to the American Gulf, but to the Trumpian Gulf. As well as the Queens district in New York, where Donald Trump was born in 1946 – to Trump.

The only thing that is worrying is that at the federal level, initiatives for mass renaming in honor of the current president have met with resistance in Congress, where at the end of 2025 they proposed to legislatively limit Trump’s right to name objects in his honor. But what is Congress when it comes to perpetuating the historical legacy of such an outstanding modern person?

A natural question arises – why does Trump need so many renamings? And here everything is explained simply. Donald Trump skillfully capitalizes on his own surname, skillfully turning it into a universal tool of influence.

And if in the commercial sphere the Trump Organization brand serves as a sign of prestige for hotels and real estate, creating the illusion of exclusivity and «grandeur», then in big politics his name has transformed into a powerful ideological marker.

It is associated among his supporters with business acumen and a conservative course, which allows Donald Trump to effectively mobilize the electorate. In fact, any renaming or launch of a new project under his auspices is a thoughtful marketing move to strengthen the image of a «successful leader».

This transformation transformed the Trump surname from a commercial brand into a holistic system of ideological and visual symbols that define modern American politics.

A new stage in political marketing was the fact that Donald Trump’s team updated the rules of the game, betting on opinion leaders in social networks from among Trump supporters who are able to influence the decisions and behavior of their audience. This approach gave the Trump brand an air of relevance and modernity, which helped attract young people who usually ignore traditional political advertising.

As a result, Trump successfully applied classic business principles – message consistency, emotional attachment and aggressive promotion – to create a political movement where his name is a guarantee of a certain worldview, and not just the surname of a possible candidate now for a third term in office.

Now, after a year of Donald Trump’s second presidential term, we can conclude that «Trumpism» has transformed from pre-election rhetoric into a systemic state ideology. And if earlier it was a movement for conditional changes, then in 2026 it is pragmatic authoritarian patriotism, in the sense in which Trump supporters understand it. That is, the vision of the country as a business corporation, where patriotism is measured by profit, and management is based on a rigid personal vertical.

This type of patriotism, in Donald Trump’s understanding, is inextricably linked to the ideology of «America First». At the same time, his version of patriotism is «transactional» and excludes those who disagree with his policies, defining them as «enemies».

Thus, we can conclude: renaming federal facilities and institutions in honor of Donald Trump directly reflects key aspects of «Trumpism» as a political ideology and style of management. This process demonstrates the transition from traditional democratic norms to personalized power.

Step by step, thanks to the consistent use of iconic images and political symbolism, a systemic glorification of the leader is gradually taking shape in the USA, which begins to resemble a cult of personality. Where loyalty to the leader becomes more important than institutional traditions. «Trumpism» is based on the image of a «strong leader», whose name on buildings symbolizes the return of «lost greatness» and dominance over political opponents.

Which is nothing more than the destruction of institutional norms. After all, traditionally, American presidents, while in office, did not name federal objects in their honor. «Trumpism» consciously ignores these unwritten rules, considering state institutions not as platforms for social interaction, but as closed hierarchical systems or tools of administration.

This can go much further than it seems at first glance. Reminiscent of building one’s political legacy during one’s lifetime. In this case, «Trumpism» revises the very concept of presidential legacy, replacing it with aggressive self-branding.

Currently, the renaming process is deepening the division in society and its polarization. While supporters see this as a recognition of Trump’s merits, opponents in Congress are trying to legally prohibit renaming in honor of the current president, considering these actions «an insult to the American people».

But the worst thing is that democracy is being transformed. The process of transforming public infrastructure into Trump’s personal symbols testifies to the erosion of democratic institutions. It indicates a transition from traditional political consensus to a personalist regime, where the image of the leader gradually replaces state structures.

This transformation of democratic institutions into a personalist regime carries systemic risks that could fundamentally change the future of the United States. To completely destroy the system of checks and balances that has worked successfully for centuries; to provoke economic instability and corruption; cause decline in trust in the American electoral system and discredit the voting system in the eyes of society.

However, the main threat is that the process may become irreversible: each new norm that is violated today becomes the standard for future leaders, gradually transforming the United States from a liberal democracy into a country with «competitive authoritarianism».

This process reveals the vulnerability of democratic systems that rely heavily on compliance with informal rules and self-restraint of political actors. But the «trumpification» of American politics is also dangerous because each new violation reduces the «price» of the next, creating a spiral that can make the process of moving away from democracy irreversible.

Then politics ceases to be a competition of ideas and turns into an expression of loyalty to the leader. Which has become a defining feature of American politics in the Trump era. Creating a situation where criticism is perceived as betrayal, which only accelerates authoritarian tendencies.

Each violation of political norms forces Trump supporters to seek justification for increasingly radical actions, which leads to the polarization of American society. And this can ultimately lead to the fact that compromise may become impossible, and the democratic process – completely paralyzed.

The United States is on the verge of systemic paralysis: a deep crisis of trust in state institutions actually blocks the mechanisms of governing the country and calls into question the preservation of national unity.

And the fact that the American system is facing a total collapse of trust threatens the ability of the state to function as a single whole. It remains to be hoped that in the USA there will be sensible politicians who are able to stop such a development of events.

After all, despite the great concentration of power in the hands of Donald Trump, pockets of resistance have already formed in Congress and the Senate, which use legislative and procedural mechanisms to restrain the most radical and absurd steps of his administration.