Reports that President Donald Trump's aides are weighing a plan to put his name on Ford's Theatre are drawing sharp backlash from Washington residents and prominent political figures — including veteran conservative commentator Bill Kristol.

Kristol took his criticism to X. "Donald Trump is a sick man. You almost feel you can't hold him fully responsible for his deep psychological deformities I have more contempt for his aides who, humoring him, feed his illness and encourage him to do and real damage to the nation," he wrote.

Kristol was far from alone in his outrage.

"What is this dudes obsession with putting his name everywhere?" asked one Navy veteran with more than 200,000 followers who monitors global conflicts on X, in a post.

The influential account "Wu Tang is for the children" quipped that the move "will definitely help lower diesel prices," a nod to fuel costs that have climbed since Trump went to war with Iran.

Another user suggested that Trump "stick to Florida" when it comes to naming things after himself, recalling that the president famously persuaded local officials to rename a federal airport in his honor.

Political writer Mona Burns questioned whether the plan was even real. "This is so ridiculous that it has to be distraction desperation," she wrote. Financial analyst and political independent Steven Thomas joked, "Apple and Google are ready for the name change."

A site steeped in history

Per the venue's website, the building originally housed the First Baptist Church of Washington until entrepreneur John T. Ford leased it in 1961 and converted it into a music hall called Ford's Athenaeum. The property is now federally owned, with the U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Park Service (NPS) responsible for managing it.

Ford's Theatre is best known as the site where President Abraham Lincoln was shot while attending a play on April 14, 1865; he was then taken to the nearby Petersen House, where he was pronounced dead. The theatre still stages live productions today, operating as both a working performing arts venue and a federally preserved historic site.

Trump has already failed to attach his name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts — a setback that triggered public outbursts in which the president suggested he might simply rip the building down. A federal judge has since stepped in to block Trump's name, likeness or anything else from being attached to that structure. Ford's Theatre now appears to be his latest alternative.

A person with knowledge of the matter told MS NOW that the theater would present an easier legal pathway than the Kennedy Center. While the federal government, through the NPS, owns and preserves the theater and the nearby house where Lincoln was taken and pronounced dead, the non-profit Ford's Theatre Society manages the live productions and arts programming.

A congressional hurdle

Formally adding Trump's name to the official designation of Ford's Theatre would almost certainly require Congress to pass a new federal law, since the site's official designation derives from a 1970 statute. That outcome is considered unlikely unless Republicans can push it through during the post-election session. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) sent members home early last week with no return date set before the Nov. 3 election, and among the first items that must be voted on when lawmakers return is the impeachment of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

The MS NOW report catalogued the growing list of institutions and spaces Trump has branded with his name since beginning his second term. "In addition to the Kennedy Center, his appointees have renamed the U.S. Institute of Peace for him; put his likeness on U.S. passports, an NPS pass and a 24-karat gold $1 coin; hung large banners adorned with his face outside the departments of Justice, Labor and Agriculture; moved ahead with plans for a 250-foot "triumphal" arch near Arlington National Cemetery; discussed opening a promenade at the Lincoln Memorial; demolished the East Wing of the White House to make way for a new ballroom built to his specifications; and paved over the White House's Rose Garden for a Mar-a-Lago-style patio," the list read.

Discussions about other potential renaming targets are also underway, including New York's Penn Station and Dulles International Airport in Virginia. Even the new Washington Commanders stadium has made the list of possible sites for Trump's self-promotion.