Trump's bid to name Penn Station after himself looks like a presidential shakedown | Mohamad Bazzi

"As a real estate developer, Donald Trump built his empire on ostentatious displays of wealth, substantial tax breaks and lots of free publicity. As president, he has deployed the power of the state to expand his personal brand, adding his name to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the US Institute of Peace, a class of new navy warships, and even investment accounts for millions of children."

"He wants Congress to rename New York's Penn Station and Washington Dulles international airport in his honor. But there's a catch: Trump reportedly told Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, that he would unfreeze billions of dollars in federal funding for a major infrastructure project in the north-east if Schumer supported renaming the two sites. The president seemingly threatened to hold federal funding, which had already been approved by Congress, hostage in his relentless campaign of self-promotion."

"Trump appears to have tried to leverage a $16bn transportation project to build a rail tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting New York and New Jersey, for his personal glorification. Over the past few weeks, Trump and his aides offered shifting explanations regarding whether he sought to extract naming rights in exchange for restoring federal funds and why the administration had suspended the project's funding in the first place."

As president, he has used state power to expand his personal brand, affixing his name to cultural institutions, warships, and investment accounts. He is pursuing congressional approval to rename New York's Penn Station and Washington Dulles international airport in his honor. He reportedly told Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer that he would unfreeze billions in federal funding for a major north-east infrastructure project if Schumer supported the renamings. The administration paused funding for the $16bn Hudson River rail tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey. His aides gave shifting explanations, and the White House press secretary contradicted other statements.

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