Have you heard? An online petition from MoveOn.Org calling for a one-block stretch of Fifth Avenue in New York City between 56th and 57th Streets to be named after Barack Obama went viral this week. Why that block? Because that’s where Trump Tower is.
The petition had 384,542 signatures Saturday morning, with a goal of 400,000, according to the petition website.
Creator Elizabeth Rowin tweeted, “Let’s troll the bully in The White House … and rename the street in front of Trump Tower in NYC.” The petition went viral Friday night, with #ObamaAve trending on Twitter. The 44th president of the United States, meanwhile, was watching the sky light up from a home on Seaview Avenue next to the Lookout Tavern, as part of his annual Martha’s Vineyard vacation.
Stephen Colbert promoted the petition on his show Thursday night.
TONIGHT: Trump gets trolled! #LSSC pic.twitter.com/6L8krm3XRW
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) August 16, 2019
“If it’s successful, the new address for Trump Tower will be 725 Barack H. Obama Ave,” he said. Except it won’t be successful. According to the New York Times, “The local community board has a longstanding moratorium against renaming streets.” Local leaders also oppose the idea.
The councilman who represents the area said he opposed the petition.
And Corey Johnson, the City Council speaker and a progressive Democrat who can muscle through legislation he favors, said he opposed the renaming, too.
Mr. Johnson, who effectively determines whether the renaming will happen, said in a statement, “As much as I love the idea of celebrating President Obama, I am not positive this is the best way.”
Yes, there are countless better ways of celebrating Barack Obama, who added more debt than all his predecessors combined, who oversaw the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression, whose presidency was constantly plagued by scandals, and, you know, the guy who built the cages for migrant children.
According to the petition’s creator, Elizabeth Rowin, the whole thing started as a joke. Which it still is, technically, since all these liberal trolls are getting excited about an idea that won’t ever come to fruition.
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Matt Margolis is the author of Trumping Obama: How President Trump Saved Us From Barack Obama’s Legacy and the bestselling book The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattMargolis
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