American Airlines Drops Trump’s Name From West Palm Beach Departure Screens As Power Changes Hands In Washington

American Airlines has dropped “Pres DJT” from the gate monitors of its West Palm Beach flights, going back to “West Palm Beach, FL,” as flagged by aviation watchdog JonNYC. This coincides with the midterm elections, and undoes the unusual decision to give the sitting president billing that other airport namesakes don’t get. JonNYC flagged the change Wednesday night, then added that he isn’t claiming a connection to the election results. It’s not clear exactly when American flipped the switch. so… has anyone noticed that AA has changed the gate monitors from “Pres DJT, W Palm Beach” back to “West Palm Beach, FL” ? — JonNYC (@xJonNYC) November 4, 2026 Back in July, I wrote about American breaking its usual gate screen display pattern for Trump. They generally display the city, adding an airport name where it helps distinguish between airports serving the same destination. New York’s JFK versus LaGuardia makes sense. Little Rock doesn’t get billed as Clinton airport, and Grand Rapids doesn’t get Gerald Ford. West Palm Beach got “Pres DJT.” Here’s the screen from that July coverage: American even gave agents talking points to explain the change. Their internal memo pointed to Florida’s renaming law and the change in the airport’s three-letter code, saying: American follows all airport names and guidance as determined by international bodies as well as federal, state and local governments. That explained why the airport had a new name, but not putting the president’s name on the gate screen. And there’s no change made by the airport itself! Florida’s renaming of Palm Beach International as President Donald J. Trump International Airport took effect July 9. The passenger-facing airport code changed from PBI to DJT on August 18. This seems like a subtle shift away from kowtowing to the president, surfacing just as voters delivered a much larger shift. American still very much needs this administration. The Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration heavily regulate them. In September I wrote about Robert Isom’s praise for Trump and what American might want in return, including closer cooperation with Alaska Airlines. Just two days later, American and Alaska announced plans for Alaska to join American’s Atlantic and Pacific joint businesses. That needs DOT approval and antitrust immunity, and the administration’s help for approvals overseas. As I explained at the time, this would let them share revenue and coordinate fares and schedules with Alaska and their international partners. Relately, North Korean scammers won’t insult Kim Jong-un even to save their scam. (HT: Astral Codex Ten). One imagines a greater willingness to shift away from performative genuflection of the U.S. President as the next two years wind down. Explaining to TradFi guys I meet at conferences that insulting Dear Leader is to North Koreans what garlic is to a vampire is an endlessly gleeful factoid to me That a group could be amongst the most sophisticated threat actors on the planet, yet have such a simple weakness, is something most people just couldn’t conceive of on their own. Their reactions to learning about it are an endless source of entertainment — Rob Montgomery🦞 (@RobAnon) September 16, 2026