Donald Trump Clashes With Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Over Giant ‘TRUMP’ Sign
Donald Trump is in a tiff with Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel over a giant sign that reads T-R-U-M-P on the side of a skyscraper.
Emanuel called the 20-foot letters atop the Trump International Hotel & Tower “tasteless,” and said he will take measures to bring them down. Trump has also come under fire from influential Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin, who has relentlessly criticized the sign.
“We got full approval,” Trump said.
In true Donald Trump fashion, the real estate mogul has said the city should be thanking him for putting up the sign.
“I have the hottest brand in the world right now and there are those who are saying I’m doing Chicago a favor,” he said. “I’ve got thousands of people saying, ‘Don’t do anything with the sign.'”
Rahm Emanuel is now trying to change city codes so that Trump’s sign can come down.
“I want to make sure that on a future basis that we have the planning development and all the ordinances in a way that reflect the city’s beautiful architecture,” Emanuel said. “And if we have to tighten that up, I’ve asked my staff to look at it so a situation like this doesn’t emerge in the future.”
Trump is crying foul on the tactic.
“That’s something they can do, absolutely. But they can’t change the rules mid-game,” Trump said.
“If they want to do that for future buildings, that’s something I would fully understand,” Trump said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune. “That’s up to them. They certainly have the right.”
But even if Rahm Emanuel were to push through a change in the city’s code, it could end up benefiting Donald Trump. Reports note that his building would likely be grandfathered in to the new rules, meaning it would only prevent Trump’s competitors from erecting similar signs.
