Ohio Republican lawmakers propose renaming state park after Trump

Mosquito Creek Lake is the park lawmakers are looking to rename in honour of the former president

A Republican state lawmaker in Ohio has introduced legislation this week that would rename a state park after former President Donald Trump.

Representative Mike Loychik on Monday officially introduced the bill, which detailed the renaming of Mosquito Creek Lake to Donald J Trump State Park. In March, Mr Loychik said the move would “honour the commitment and dedication that our 45th President, Donald J Trump, bestowed upon the great people of Trumbull County”, according to a statement.

If the bill passed, it would change the state park to Donald J Trump State Park to signify the former president winning the Republican-leaning state in both the 2016 and 2020 elections. And $150,000 of funding would be allocated to changing all signs within the park.

"I witnessed the unprecedented and astounding support that President Trump received from my constituents across the 63rd District and Mosquito Lake State Park," Mr Loychik said, according to the Associated Press.

"This enthusiasm for our former president was also historic throughout the state of Ohio last November as he pushed for initiatives and policies that were very well-received with my constituency and the state," he added.

Trumbull County, where the Ohio state park is located, supported Mr Trump in the 2020 election, with 55 per cent of voters choosing him to remain in office.

Even though Mr Trump lost the presidential election, he won the most votes in Ohio compared to any other presidential candidate in the state’s history.

The Department of National Resources defended the name of the state park following the announcement of the Ohio bill.

“The name has withstood the test of time. Mosquito Creek Lake was formed by damming Mosquito Creek back in 1944,” the statement read. “Since then, Mosquito Lake State Park has become one of Ohio's best state parks, best fishing lakes, and has one of Ohio's most important wildlife refuges.”

Democratic state lawmakers also spoke out against the move from their colleagues across the aisle.

“[Ohioans] are struggling with an addiction crisis, economic disruption, and a pandemic that the other guy said would disappear just like magic,” Democratic Representative Rich Brown tweeted on 12 March after the bill was first introduced. “Instead of addressing these pressing issues, Ohio House Republicans are spending their time flattering the Insurrectionist in Chief.”

Ohio Republican lawmakers also attempted to declare the president's birthday, 14 June, as Donald J Trump Day. That proposal has yet to pass.