Photo by Gage Skidmore/Flickr
Audio By Carbonatix
Florida House Rep. (and Boca Raton resident) Kelly Skidmore thinks Palm Beach County has a few locally relevant candidates better suited than President Donald Trump to be the new name of Palm Beach International Airport. How about Lilly Pulitzer? Or Jimmy Buffett? Perhaps Ariana Grande?
The Democratic representative made a surprise appearance at a Tuesday Palm Beach County Commission meeting, where commissioners were discussing whether to approve the licensing agreement with Trump’s family company for the renaming, and stood in line to speak during public comment.
“We can be popular and defy gravity,” she said of her suggestions. “It would be an excellent marketing campaign.”
That compelling argument aside, the commissioners approved a licensing agreement allowing them to rename the airport after President Donald J. Trump. And before you ask: yes, there will most likely be merch with the name plastered on it. According to the New York Times, the family won’t make money off of branded items sold on airport grounds. But they could if it’s sold elsewhere.
The vote was just to approve the licensing agreement, not to rename the airport; the state legislature already voted to change the name, and Gov. Ron DeSantis in March signed the bill into law. The licensing agreement was necessary because Trump owns the rights to his name. The state bill and licensing agreement, however, won’t prevent the county from changing the name again in the future, according to the county.
Commissioners ultimately voted 4-3 in favor of approving the agreement, with commissioners Maria Marino (District 1, Republican), Marci Woodward (District 4, Republican), Maria Sachs (District 5, Democrat), and County Mayor Sara Baxter (District 6, Republican) voting yes and Gregg K. Weiss (District 2, Democrat), Joel G. Flores (District 3, Democrat), and Bobby Powell Jr. (District 7, Democrat) voting no.
Commissioners didn’t spend much time discussing the merits of changing the name to Trump’s, which was clearly on the minds of many residents who spoke during the public comment portion. Baxter did, however, take time to admonish those who spoke out against the sitting president, arguing Trump has sought to protect Jewish people and improve the nation’s military. Commissioners were primarily focused on discussion about merchandising and logos.
Before commissioners began deliberating, several residents used the public comment portion to criticize the renaming, while a couple spoke in favor.
“I don’t agree with this at all,” one resident said. “We’ve just been do things willy nilly in this county. I think this is one of the things we don’t need to discuss, talk about, or change.”
Another resident said, “I would encourage you to delay, delay, delay. No airports have ever been named for people still in office. The state of Florida is trying to usurp local control at every level, and I feel for you guys.”
Another, who was asked by commissioners to end his time early over “inappropriate” comments, said, “I don’t think it does us any good to change the name to a convicted criminal, or change the name to a pedophile.”
