Gavin Newsom’s Reaction To Trump Rebranding A Federal Building Is Going Viral For Hilarious Reasons

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Gavin Newsom’s Reaction To Trump Rebranding A Federal Building Is Going Viral For Hilarious Reasons

Matt Stopera

Thu, December 4, 2025 at 6:06 PM UTC

2 min read

On Monday, the State Department unveiled that it added Trump's name to the United States Institute of Peace.

A building labeled "Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace" with a tweet describing its renaming, claiming it honors the greatest dealmaker in U.S. history
StateDept/x.com

Here's a closer look:

Building facade with "United States Institute of Peace" text; tree in foreground
Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images

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Some people are calling it an interesting move, considering DOGE "gutted" the Institute earlier this year. Chief White House Correspondent for The New York Times, Peter Baker, said: "Trump's White House gutted the Institute of Peace, fired its staff and called it a 'bloated, useless entity.' Now Trump has renamed the institute he tried to destroy after himself."

Sign with text "Donald J. Trump" on a large curved stone surface outdoors
Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images

Back in May, a federal judge ruled that Trump used "brute force" to take over the Institute. The lawyer representing the USIP (United States Institute of Peace) commented on the name change, "Renaming the USIP building adds insult to injury. A federal judge has already ruled that the government’s armed takeover was illegal. That judgment is stayed while the government appeals, which is the only reason the government continues to control the building. The rightful owners will ultimately prevail and will restore the U.S. Institute of Peace and the building to their statutory purposes."

"Donald J. Trump" text on a stone wall
Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images

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Now, let's go to the comments.

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We have a bunch of people saying something like, "This is propaganda."

Tweet screenshot with text saying the former Institute of Peace was renamed the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace by the State Department
Ally_Sammarco/x.com

Another person added, "When a later president puts a name on a building, it's an honor. When a current president puts his name on a building, it's narcissism."

Image of a building with "Donald J. Trump United States Institute of Peace" on it. Tweet comments on naming buildings after presidents
ScottGreenfield/x.com

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And NJ Senator Andy Kim joked, "Needs more gold."

A tweet by @StateDept announces the renaming of the Institute of Peace to Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace
AndyKimNJ/x.com

Gavin Newsom ALSO had two things to say about it.

Person seated speaking at an event, wearing a tailored suit. Background shows a stage setup
Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images

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Over on main, he commented, "Hard at work, I see."

Screenshot of a tweet from Gavin Newsom responding sarcastically to the State Department's tweet about renaming a building after Donald Trump
GavinNewsom/x.com

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And the Press Office account posted this picture:

A satirical tweet compares KFC Institute for Veganism and Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace with altered building signs
GovPressOffice/x.com

The KFC Institute for Veganism? I see what you did there.

Person in a recording studio speaks into a red microphone, wearing headphones, focused on broadcasting
ABC

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