Few people in the world have a name that triggers horrible thoughts and images in others and makes them want to change it. Fortunately for most of us, we can be proud of the name we carry. But in America, since 2016, there has been one name that those who have a problem with it feel completely justified in destroying those who carry it. That name, of course, is Trump. Former President Donald Trump has faced a level of hatred that has never been seen before in this country for one human being, let alone a politician. Not only has President Trump faced unmerciful attacks, not just politically, but personally as well. We are witnessing in real-time attempts not only to keep him off the 2024 presidential ballot but also to destroy a business he spent a lifetime building. This philosophy also applies to his family. Destroy them in any way possible. The latest target named Trump: his daughter-in-law Lara.

Turns out, Lara Trump, wife of Donald Trump's son Eric, is a multi-talented woman. She is a former television producer, she currently hosts a podcast called The Right View, and most recently, she released a single, a cover of Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down." I did not know she sang. I would love to hear it. Most likely, so would a lot of other people. There's just one problem, the company that owns a Times Square billboard where an advertisement for the single might appear has refused to print her name, more specifically, her last name, on the cover art or even promote the song. 

TSX Entertainment is the company that owns the billboard. Their reason for not wanting to use Lara Trump's name or even promote her work, you guessed it, because her name is Trump. TSX Entertainment stated that the reason for this, the word "Trump" is what they called "an issue." In a feeble attempt to appear to be working with her, TSX Entertainment offered up this idea, they would print her name, "Lara," but leave off "Trump." The company did put up a billboard with cover art for the song, but no text, not her name or the name of the song.

Eric had thoughts:

As she should, Lara Trump had plenty to say about it.

“[Producer LJ Fino] called me and told me this, and I was like, ‘Hell no, I’m not okay with just Lara. My name is Lara Trump and I’m proud of that. The billboard just went live with just the picture, not even the title of the song.” 

She also pointed out the blatant double standard that automatically comes with just about everything if your name is Trump. She added:

“This is the same billboard company, by the way, who was happy to host Black Lives Matter advertising, Planned Parenthood advertising, teachers’ union advertising, but I’m too political with a cover song."

The usual outlets where you might find new music are also treating Lara Trump a little differently than every other new artist. Amazon is tracking sales with a different barcode than the standard ISRC code. This code is normally used for sales to count toward Billboard Charting eligibility. Apple Music has also joined in. When searching for the song by song title, Lara Trump's version is not listed. When searching by artist's name, the song appears far down below parody songs about her father-in-law. Because apparently, it is much more important that those are easily accessed. Spotify appeared initially not to list the song in search results. It was only accessible by searching Lara Trump's full name. But as a Spotify customer myself, I tried to access the tune. Now, when you search by song title, it's listed second. 

Lara Trump says the opportunity to record a cover of the song came about because she had previously posted videos of herself playing piano on Instagram. She was asked if she sang and quipped, "Yeah, in the car or at karaoke.'" She added:

"I don’t have any grand aspirations to be a singer, but this just seemed so fun, I mean what a cool experience. And it’s a great song, Tom Petty did an incredible job."

But when your name is Trump, it appears that no matter what avenue you pursue, you will run into the buzzsaw of a double standard that goes with having that moniker, and not be allowed to live your life. It also came as no surprise to Lara Trump herself. She told Daily Mail, "Sadly it’s to be expected with our last name. I wish I was surprised, but I’m not."