PALM BEACH — A stretch of a Palm Beach County roadway that has become synonymous with its most famous resident now bears his name.
A 4-mile portion of Southern Boulevard from Mar-a-Lago on the east to Palm Beach International Airport on the west will bear signs designating it as “President Donald J. Trump Boulevard.”
Trump was formally presented with the road markers during a gathering on Jan. 16 in the White & Gold Ballroom at his Palm Beach club just after he arrived from Washington for his 18th visit this term.
Trump said he was “tremendously honored” by the renaming of roadway.
“Today’s dedication ceremony for President Donald J. Trump Boulevard has special meaning to me, because I’ve always had the unique bond with the great state of Florida,” he said.
“When people see that beautiful sign is all lit up nice at night and it says Donald J. Trump Boulevard, they’ll be filled with pride, just pride, not in me, pride in our country, right, in the state, because our nation will be stronger, richer and more successful, which is what it is right now.”
The president also noted another portion of Southern further to the west will also be renamed to honor three Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputies — Luis Paez, Ralph “Butch” Waller and Ignacio “Dan” Diaz, who died in November 2024 after an SUV struck them.
Trump news conference brings in GOP leaders statewide
On hand for the dedication were some of the most notable Republican political leaders in Florida and the county.
They included Florida House Speaker Danny Perez; Florida Senate President Ben Albritton; Palm Beach County Mayor Sara Baxter; state Rep. Meg Weinberger, R-Palm Beach Gardens; Dave Kerner, executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and a former county commissioner; county commissioner Maria Sachs; Chief Deputy County Administrator Todd Bonlarron; and right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer.
Trump’s second oldest son, Eric, was in attendance as well.
Weinberger, who sponsored the legislation to rename the roadway, credited her husband with the idea.
“I grew up respecting those that serve, and I feel like President Trump has certainly done so much for our community. I think at the end of the day, President Trump is a two-term president, and it’s the right thing to do,” said Weinberger.
Trump will be at the Winter White House through the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, which will mark almost to the day the anniversary of his inaugural last year. His visit is scheduled to conclude with his attendance at the college football national championship game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
A Palm Beach County roadway named for Trump. And the airport, too?
The eastern Palm Beach County portion of Southern Boulevard may not be the last local public place renamed for the president. Weinberger said in November that she had filed legislation to change the name of PBIA to “Donald J. Trump International Airport.”
At Mar-a-Lago, Weinberger said she was hopeful the measure will pass the Florida Legislature this session but that it will be a more complex task.
“We’re working hard,” she said. “There’s different components. There’s the county, and obviously the state and the FAA. We’re working on it, but we’ve never renamed an airport before.”
The 4-mile stretch of Southern is the route Trump’s presidential motorcade has followed in his more than 50-plus trips to Palm Beach across his two non-consecutive White House terms.
It has long been a pilgrimage ground for supporters of the president’s Make America Great Again, or MAGA, movement. They have gathered along sidewalks and at parking lots and on Bingham Island at times of triumph and ignominy during the past eight years.
The roadway has also drawn Trump’s opponents and critics who have protested his policies with signs and even billboards as his motorcade drives past them.
Trump remains steadfastly popular among Florida Republicans and the MAGA base, but not outside those electorates, according to public opinion polls as the president’s second administration concludes its first year.
An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey released issued Jan. 15 found just 40% of those surveyed approve of his performance as president, with 59% disapproving. A CNN poll issued Jan. 16 found 39% approving of Trump and 61% disapproving.
State officials kicked off plan to rename roadway after Trump
The renaming of Southern between Kirk Road and South Ocean Boulevard Mar-a-Lago was initiated by state lawmakers a year ago. County and West Palm Beach commissioners then signed off on the measure, as did the Palm Beach town council.
Although Trump has officially been a resident of the Palm Beaches since 2019, this is not the first jurisdiction to name a street for him. In November 2023, Hialeah officials attending Trump’s rally in their Miami-Dade County city announced they were changing the name of a thoroughfare, Palm Avenue, to “President Donald J. Trump Avenue.”
The naming of the South Florida roadways has not been controversial. But other renamings for Trump have drawn sharp criticism.
In Washington, the addition of the 45th and 47th president’s name to the landmark performing arts center as Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has sparked cancellations of season passes and boycotts by some performing artists.
Also in the nation’s capital, the U.S. Institute of Peace was renamed as the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in December.
Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Southern Boulevard named for Trump. Is Palm Beach International next?
Reporting by Antonio Fins, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
