White House Responds To Idea To Rename NJ School For Donald Trump
A New Jersey school board member’s proposal to name an elementary school after President Donald Trump is getting a bit of support from a not-surprising place: The White House.
Last week, Robert Scales, a member of the Colts Neck Township School Board, suggested creating a committee to explore the idea of renaming Conover Road Primary School, which serves students pre-K through second grade, after the president.
The committee, Scales explained, would evaluate “not only how much this would cost, but what lines, if any, could be crossed by naming a school after a president.”
The district already has a Conover Road Elementary, which teaches students in third through fifth grade, so a name change could minimize confusion.
But Scales saw another reason for renaming the school.
“What person is doing things that protects our school?” he asked at Wednesday’s meeting, before noting that he’s been trying to figure out how his district can celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S. later this year.
“I think if we look at who our true ally is, and kind of who we’re modeling things after ― the birthday of America ― and someone who has contributed a great deal of time to this great town of Colts Neck, it would be our president.”
Colts Neck is in Monmouth County, about 50 miles from Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. Trump won the county in 2024 with 55% of the vote, though Kamala Harris won the state overall.
Neither the school district nor Scales immediately responded to HuffPost’s request for comment.
Despite all possible evidence to the contrary, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle claimed to HuffPost that “President Trump is focused on saving our country – not garnering recognition.”
But given Trump’s “vast accomplishments,” Ingle said, “including signing the largest tax cut in history, securing the border, restoring peace through strength, it is natural that local officials and other great patriots want to recognize the President’s incredible work on behalf of the American people.”
NJ.com reported that at least one of Scales’ fellow board members is all in on considering renaming a school for Trump, but other locals don’t like the idea.
“School names are supposed to reflect the virtues we hope to instill in our children: integrity, humility, service, respect for the law, and a commitment to community over self,” Colts Neck resident and former Democratic congressional candidate Matthew Jenkins said on Instagram.
No committee has formed yet to change the name of the primary school, but a school district policy from 2009 specifies that district facility or building names should be “free from biases, prejudices, or political, and/or religious connotations,” and should “consider the location, community and local heritage,” according to The Daily Beast.
