Florida legislators are considering a bill that would designate a portion of Commercial Boulevard in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea as “President Donald J. Trump Boulevard.”
The House version of the bill was recently passed, clearing the way for the Senate to approve the measure.
The bill, HB 33, aims to add the honorary designation of “Trump Boulevard” to a beachside stretch of Commercial Boulevard, a major thoroughfare, not far from where a “Trump Drive” sign already exists, at the corner of Sea Grape Drive and Commercial.
Lauderdale-by-the-Sea had voted just last year to co-designate Sea Grape Drive after the president, declaring it “President Donald J. Trump Drive.” It wasn’t an easy decision for the town. First came extensive debate, then a 3-2 vote in favor of adding Trump’s name to the Sea Grape Drive sign.
Left alone, the bill could lead to the town having a street crossing that features a Trump Boulevard in one direction and a Trump Drive in the other. The prospect of that may please the president’s strongest supporters, but it doesn’t sit well with everyone.
“Can we take it down?” asked Michael Smith, 75, who lives less than a mile from the intersection. Looking at the Trump Drive sign on a sunny afternoon, Smith said he found it difficult as a Democrat to separate his opinion about street names from his feelings about Trump’s habit of self-promotion. “He just wants his name on everything,” he said.
A street sign for Sea Grape Drive at the intersection with Commercial Boulevard is shown in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel).
But Trump would not be the first president with passionate opposition to have streets named in his honor in South Florida. In 2009, his first year in office, President Barack Obama was honored with a street designation in West Park. Later, in 2015, another street was named for him in Riviera Beach.
Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Commissioner Richard DeNapoli, a Trump supporter who has strongly defended the Sea Grape Drive designation, said the different responses to the different honors reflect nothing more than partisan politics, and there’s nothing unusual about naming streets and other public spaces for living people.
“It’s a shame that in Broward — unlike other counties — extremists have made this an issue where in every other county it hasn’t been,” he said. Broward is the bluest county in the state, though DeNapoli contends his city is more supportive of the president than the rest of the county.
It’s not entirely clear how the Commercial Boulevard designation made its way onto the House bill, which originated in the Commerce Committee and originally honored slain activist Charlie Kirk with a street renaming in Miami-Dade County. None of the sponsors or co-sponsors are from Broward.
During a House session last week, the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Juan Porras, R-Miami, said the Commercial Boulevard designation for Trump would be “codifying the decision that was made by a local municipality in that area.”
During last week’s session, state Rep. Robin Bartleman, a Democrat from Weston, said she was against the measure. “I just want to point out that Commercial Boulevard is a main thoroughfare in Broward County, and not all of Broward County, nor the Commission, have been able to vet this or take an opinion since it’s a road traveled by all.” She added, “I’m going to be down on this because I think every resident should have the ability to weigh in.”
None of the businesses on the quarter-mile stretch of road would be required to formally update their addresses — the addition of Trump’s name is strictly ceremonial.
The Commercial Boulevard portion in the bill was introduced sometime between last September and this February. It would give the local government an opportunity to avoid a Trump-Trump intersection.
“It would give the local commission options to consider in the event the bill is signed into law since the approval has to come through us at the local commission,” DeNapoli said. “At that point, we could decide which methods and manner of signage are preferred.”
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457.