Ford’s Theatre Reportedly Eyed in Trump Naming Push

Ford’s Theatre, the Washington, D.C. playhouse where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, has come up in discussions among Trump administration officials about federal properties that could bear President Donald Trump’s name, according to a new report from MS NOW.

Citing people familiar with the effort, MS NOW reports that administration officials have been circulating a list of government sites where Trump’s name might be added in some form, as the president continues his fight to rename the Kennedy Center after himself. According to the report, officials have been looking for properties that could offer a simpler legal path than the Kennedy Center effort.

It remains unclear how seriously Ford’s Theatre is being considered, or what form any use of Trump’s name there would take. One administration official told MS NOW the idea had been discussed but could not say where it currently stood. The outlet reports that the possibility prompted a wave of conversation over the past week among those responsible for the historic site.

Both the White House and the Interior Department have denied the report. A White House spokesman called the story entirely false, and an Interior Department spokesperson likewise said it was not true – per the original report. 

Ford’s Theatre and the Petersen House across the street, where Lincoln died the morning after he was shot, are owned by the Interior Department and operated by the National Park Service as the Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site. The site’s name is established by a federal statute signed by President Richard Nixon, meaning a formal renaming would likely require congressional action. 

Beyond its role as a national memorial and museum, Ford’s Theatre is a working playhouse with a full season of productions. The theatre is currently presenting Come From Away, the musical about the Newfoundland town that took in thousands of stranded travelers after U.S.-bound flights were grounded on September 11, 2001. The production is part of the theatre’s observance of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, an effort for which former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush serve as honorary chairs.

Trump has visited the theatre before, delivering remarks at its annual gala in June 2019, during which he spoke admiringly of the venue and the presidential box where Lincoln was shot.

In January, Senator Bernie Sanders introduced legislation that would prohibit naming federal buildings or land after a sitting president, with provisions reaching back to the Kennedy Center and Institute of Peace changes. The bill has not advanced.

Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian