Trump Denies Wanting Name on Theater Where Lincoln Was Shot: ‘Tragic Place’ - Newsweek

President Donald Trump has denied reports that administration officials were considering adding his name to Ford’s Theater, where President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865.

MS NOW reported on Wednesday that staffers had circulated a list of federal sites that could potentially include Trump's name, with Ford's Theater among those under discussion.

"The story that the White House, or me, want to affix my name to Ford's Theater, in Washington, D.C., where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, is a ridiculous lie," the president wrote on Truth Social. "It is FAKE NEWS! Who would possibly want a name on such a tragic place?"

Since his return to office, Trump has pushed to have his name added to various landmarks in the capital city, including the Kennedy Center and the U.S. Institute of Peace. The Ford's Theater is owned by the Interior Department and is still open as a theater and museum.

"The Dumocrats suffer from serious Trump Derangement Syndrome," Trump added. "They are Degenerates and Losers who make up lie after lie, and this Ford's Theater Hoax is just another one of their never-ending, malicious falsehoods to try to discredit and demean."

Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment via email outside of regular working hours.

MS NOW reported, citing anonymous sources, that administration officials have circulated a list of government sites where President Trump’s name could potentially be added, with Ford’s Theater featuring in it.

According to the outlet, White House officials, advisers and allies have also discussed naming other buildings and sites after Trump, with some sources describing such proposals as a way to appeal to the president. MS NOW reported that Penn Station, Dulles International Airport and the planned Washington Commanders stadium have also been raised in discussions.

The outlet said it was unclear how seriously the Ford’s Theater proposal was being considered or whether it had progressed beyond internal discussions. Trump has denied that he or the White House is seeking to have his name added to the theater.

Trump’s name has already been attached to a number of public buildings and infrastructure projects, though several of the efforts have faced legal challenges.

The Kennedy Center board added Trump’s name to the Washington performing arts venue in 2025, but a federal judge ruled in May 2026 that only Congress had the authority to rename it and ordered his name removed.

The board, many of whom are Trump appointees, subsequently proposed adding an inscription crediting Trump with restoring the building and naming its grounds President Donald J. Trump Plaza, but U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper blocked that effort earlier this month, finding that it also required congressional approval.

"Simply put, Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing,” U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said in his ruling.

The Trump administration also renamed the U.S. Institute of Peace as the Donald J. Trump United States Institute of Peace in December 2025 and attached large silver letters bearing Trump’s name to its Washington headquarters, which has also been met with legal challenges.

On September 17, its ousted leadership asked a federal appeals court to prevent the administration from going further and permanently engraving Trump’s name onto the building while the case remains unresolved.

"The threatened carving would impose serious irreparable harm,” attorneys representing the former leadership wrote in the filing. "It is a discrete act that can and should be forestalled through a limited, status-quo-preserving modification of the stay pending appeal.”

Outside of Washington D.C., Florida officially renamed Palm Beach International Airport the President Donald J. Trump International Airport in July after legislation was approved by the state, while a roughly four-mile section of Southern Boulevard near Mar-a-Lago, where the president has a home, was given the honorary name President Donald J. Trump Boulevard in January.

Tennessee lawmakers also designated a new Interstate 40 bridge near Douglas Lake the President Donald J. Trump Bridge, which was officially unveiled in August.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Robinson and Tony Phillips.