Toronto lawmaker pushing to erase Trump’s name from tower

A new push from a Toronto politician aims to remove Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s name from a building in the city.

City Councillor Josh Matlow is calling for the Trump International Hotel and Tower Toronto to change its name, according to Now Toronto.

{mosads}“The owners of that tower use his name to market the building and it’s a brand that they clearly believe was a benefit to selling units and to attract visitors to their hotel,” said Matlow, who represents Toronto’s Ward 22.

“I’m writing to those owners to make a case that, in fact, the brand is tarnished and an embarrassment now,” he continued. “I think it’s fair to ask them to consider changing the name so that we don’t have one of the largest and most prominent buildings in the downtown core named after one of the most infamous bigots in the world.”

Matlow is sending a letter to Talon International Inc., the owners of the 68-story hotel and condo development, urging a name change. He said the rebranding is necessary after Trump’s recent inflammatory comments on Muslims and illegal immigrants.

“It seems like every time Donald Trump opens his mouth, he conjures up a more hateful and inflammatory comment that all decent people who believe in celebrating diversity and being respectful need to push back on,” Matlow said.

“To hear comments like Mr. Trump’s is just so deeply offensive to us,” he added. 

“It goes against everything we believe in, and I’d be very surprised if most reasonably decent people in this city disagreed with the request I’m making.”

CBC News also reported Tuesday that a similar effort aimed at removing Trump’s brand is taking place in Vancouver.

Former chief city planner Brent Toderian is urging its developers, Holborn Group and TA Global, to scratch the billionaire’s name from a building set for completion next year.

“As the discourse just gets more and more horrifying in the United States, it bothers me more and more that our second tallest building has his name attached to it,” Toderian said of the 63-story Trump International Hotel and Tower Vancouver.

Trump sparked global outrage by suggesting a ban on admitting Muslims within U.S. borders Monday. He suggested the temporary freeze as a means of preventing radical Islamic terrorism within the homeland.