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Will Trump Plaza be renamed? West Palm Beach residents vote to dump ex-President's name after Capitol riots

On January 19, 2021, the Trump Plaza condo board voted to change the name of the two luxurious towers, where units sell from $1 million to more than $4 million

Donald Trump is still reeling with the aftereffects of the US Capitol siege on January 6, 2021. From getting banned from social networking sites for spewing hate to falling popularity and an impending impeachment trial, the ripples of his actions from that day and everything leading up to it seems to have an irrevocable impact on Americans. In what comes as the latest in Trump's deteriorating image, a West Palm Beach condominium has unanimously voted to drop its Trump Plaza legal name in the wake of the January 6 riots.

On January 19, 2021, the Trump Plaza condo board voted to change the name of the two luxurious towers, where units sell from $1 million to more than $4 million. The residents are reportedly voting for a new name. "It's been a long time in coming," one Trump Plaza owner reportedly told the Palm Beach Post. "Most of us are relieved that the name will finally be off the buildings."

According to an article in DailyMail, the Trump Plaza was developed in 1981 by Armour Guider Development Corporation. He tried for a while to sell units but in 1991, handed it back to his lenders. Owners who thought the Trump brand brought international cachet opted to keep Trump's name in legal documents and in giant lettering decorating the top of the 32-floor towers. The signs weren't removed except in 2017 for maintenance. According to the outlet, signs at the base of the complex were removed in June after George Floyd protests. 

This is a new low for Trump, whose public image is maligned since the siege. Palm Beach officials are conducting a "legal review" of Donald Trump's use of nearby Mar-a-Lago as a residence because of a 1993 permit that restricts long-term stays at the resort. However, Eric Trump, the former president's son and an executive vice president of the Trump Organization, said his father is within his rights to stay at the exclusive club as long as he chooses. "My father has the absolute right to live at Mar-a-Lago," he reportedly told DailyMail, adding, "He's the owner and he's the director and this why these guys aren't gaining any traction. There is a big difference between a guest and an owner."

Pointing to Section 134-2 of the town's municipal code, which defines private clubs and noted that Mar-a-Lago maintains its RAA-Large Estate Residential zoning, Trump supported his statement. The ordinance reads, "Within residential zoning districts, a private club may provide living quarters for its bona fide employees only." The town ordinance also defines what constitutes an employee. According to DailyMail, Eric Trump added that in his father's 1993 application for the permit, he said the property usage would not change. "The use of property is not permitted to have changed, and has to be used in the way Marjorie Merriweather Post had used the property," he said, referring to the heiress who built the estate in the 1920s.

According to a report in NJ.com, the vote to remove the Trump Plaza name in Palm Beach comes as Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small gave a new date of February 17, 2021, for the implosion of Trump's long-closed Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. But the auction fell apart when its owner, billionaire investor Carl Icahn objected over safety concerns.

Trump's real estate reputation seems to be on the verge of deterioration. The New York Times reported in 2019 that the last of a trail of Trump Place buildings lining Manhattan's West Side Highway, which are not owned by him, had decided to remove the former president's name from its building, The New York Times reported.

Most of the internet is happy that Trump's name is out. "The Trump Plaza condo board in West Palm Beach voted unanimously to dump the Trump name ⁦@IvankaTrump  No one wants your name. No one wants to be with you. #convicttrump #trumpcrimefamilyforprison," one tweeted. While others are glad that change is finally happening. "West Palm Beach Trump Plaza condo board votes to dump Trump name - The condo board of Trump Plaza in West Palm Beach, Florida, voted unanimously to remove "Trump" from the name. It's the latest in a string of Trump pushback from Floridians," one tweeted. "The American People overwhelmingly Rejected the Trump family too. Smart move by the Trump Plaza Condo Board," another added.