Noel abandons bill to create ‘Donald Trump Highway’ in Southern Utah

In this March 1, 2017, file photo, President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. The bill to rename a Southern Utah highway after Trump was dropped Wednesday | Associated Press photo by Evan Vucci via Miami Herald, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The bill to rename a stretch of Southern Utah highways after President Donald Trump has been dropped.

Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, told St. George News he was worn out after receiving heavy criticism about the bill. He dropped the bill Wednesday afternoon. The bill would have renamed the Utah National Parks Highway, which includes hundreds of miles of roads around Southern Utah’s national parks, to the “Donald J. Trump Utah National Parks Highway.”

In this file photo, Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, is shown on the House floor at the Utah State Capitol, in Salt Lake City, Feb. 6, 2018 | Associated Press photo by Rick Bowmer, St. George News

With the bill now dropped, the highway will remain called the Utah National Parks Highway.

Read more: Bill to rename Southern Utah highway advancing

Part of the reason the bill wouldn’t have gotten as much support from lawmakers is because it’s an election year, Noel told St. George News.

“I believe we had a majority of the House that would have supported this. Some told me they’d support it, but that they’d have a tough election this year so they couldn’t vote for it.”

Noel said he probably could have pushed harder for the bill to be passed, but this year wasn’t the time. He said he got many calls and emails from people concerned about naming the highway after Trump.

“For one thing, the reason for this bill would have been to thank the president for downsizing Utah’s national monuments,” Noel said. “He has been really helpful and very good for Utah.”

State Route 9 winds through Zion National Park. SR-9 is part a route that would have become the “Donald J. Trump Utah National Parks Highway” if the bill sponsored by Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, hadn’t have been dropped Wednesday, undated photo | Photo by robertcicchetti/iStock/Getty Images Plus, St. George News

The bill had received pushback from Democrats and even Gov. Gary Herbert, who said he doesn’t think it’s the right time to name a highway after Trump.

Sen. Jim Dabakis, D-Salt Lake City, also mocked Noel’s idea to rename the highway, saying he would propose amendments that would rename the frontage road along the highway after Stormy Daniels, the porn star who is now suing Trump over an alleged affair and hush agreement. 

“I just want the Legislature to understand the level of disrespect that a lot of citizens are feeling by this notion of awarding him this most special byway in the United States,” Dabakis said.

It’s hard for people to honor Trump when there are things like the Stormy Daniels lawsuit hanging over his head, Noel said.

“The public is not very forgiving when it comes to that kind of stuff,” Noel said.

Possibly after Trump is no longer president, Noel said he may still consider sponsoring another bill to rename the highway after Donald Trump.

“There are so many people who will support this idea of honoring him,” Noel said.

The bill had passed a House committee with a favorable recommendation but, before it was dropped, it received a near-unanimous motion to temporarily postpone action on the bill when it was brought up Wednesday morning on the House floor.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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26 Comments

  • Death Valley March 8, 2018 at 4:50 am

    Hopefully, that old fool dies before he has a chance to propose something so stupid again. What a moron.

  • RedRocks March 8, 2018 at 7:24 am

    Not in 100 years, 1,000 years…ever, would there be an appropriate time to name anything after that despicable “man” (I use the word loosely here). Oh wait, if this guy wants to name something after him, I’m sure there are a number of landfills available for naming.

  • Craig March 8, 2018 at 11:13 am

    Sad to continue posting created controversies, like the prostitute.

    Mr Trump was not accused of any type of sexual scandal until he dared run for President.

    We should be ashamed of how easily we accept tripe as fact.

    • Bender March 8, 2018 at 12:05 pm

      Right…. Trump has always been shining beacon of sexual purity and marital fidelity.

    • Chris March 8, 2018 at 12:59 pm

      you obviously have not followed Trump’s pre-presidential history very well. Try looking at the coverage of his affair with Marla Maples while he was still married to Ivana. That is one of many examples. Craig, you only see what you want to see. You are as pathetic as Trump himself.

    • Death Valley March 8, 2018 at 1:47 pm

      Craig said: “Mr Trump was not accused of any type of sexual scandal until he dared run for President.”
      Never mind that he cheated on his first wife with his 2nd wife and on his second wife with his 3rd wife and on his 3rd wife with a pornstar, etc. etc. etc.

      “We should be ashamed of how easily we accept tripe as fact.”
      No, Craig. “We” should not be ashamed of anything. You, however, should be ashamed of the fact that you’re easily duped.
      Pull your head out, old man. Before it’s too late.

      • mctrialsguy March 8, 2018 at 5:07 pm

        President Trump has never been convicted of anything only accused by the Liberal Media, however….President Clinton was not only accused, but impeached, and there were seven (7) accusers of actual molestation and rape. Big difference!

        • Chris March 8, 2018 at 5:34 pm

          You can’t get anything right. Trump has been accused by 18 individual (not the liberal media) women of sexual assault. Moreover, he was recorded bragging about assaulting women. So, he has openly admitted to this behavior. Clinton was only accused too. The impeachment had nothing to do with sexual assault, and he was not convicted. An impeachment is just an accusation by Congress. You seem to have a very shallow understanding of everything you write about.

          • Real Life March 8, 2018 at 6:32 pm

            How about they are both sleazy?

        • Death Valley March 9, 2018 at 6:20 am

          mctrialsguy – you sound like the typical Trump excuse making Utard. Justifying the actions of a man as filthy as Trump makes you look bad, my friend. REALLY BAD. I hope you don’t have daughters.

  • No Filter March 8, 2018 at 12:00 pm

    You see the press still works for the people!

  • Bender March 8, 2018 at 12:09 pm

    SLTrib reported that Noel dropped HB481 because he was ” worn down by hundreds of personal attacks”.

    Snowflake.

  • youcandoit March 8, 2018 at 3:11 pm

    I see a lot of you listen to fake news. President Trump is being attacked by the evil side of our government. It’s about staying United if you can’t see he cares for America I feel bad for your souls. The evil in our government goes deep. Do your research. God bless you and all of us Amen

    • Bender March 8, 2018 at 4:13 pm

      Define fake news please. Guessing your definition differs from mine.

    • Chris March 8, 2018 at 5:08 pm

      “Evil in our government”??? You are incredibly gullible. No wonder you side with the ultimate piece of crap, Trump.

  • mctrialsguy March 8, 2018 at 5:12 pm

    President Obama has highways named after him and he was a racist and a crook. Martin Luther King never held and office and has a highway in every big city named after him. President Trump has done more for the economy in only two (2) years than any other president in history! You are either with the President and the country or you are the problem. We all used to stand together and were United, now liberals and the social media has gone way over the edge to being non-patriots and un-american. Sic’

    • Chris March 8, 2018 at 5:36 pm

      ” more for the economy in only two (2) years”?? He has not been in office for two years, dummy!

    • Chris March 8, 2018 at 5:38 pm

      “We all used to stand together and were United” LOL, a complete myth. Political division has been the norm since this country was formed. You are living in a fantasy world!

    • Death Valley March 9, 2018 at 6:24 am

      mctrialsguy – Do yourself a favor and take your meds. Your ignorance is staggering.

  • think4urself March 8, 2018 at 6:27 pm

    This is great news!! It was an awful idea.

    The public is not very forgiving when it comes to that kind of stuff,” Noel said.

    This has nothing to do with being ‘forgiving’, Mr. Noel. Normal thinking humans can discern when someone deserves something vs someone who absolutely does not!

  • biker11 March 8, 2018 at 8:38 pm

    Yes, lots of Legacy media believers here. They believe the daily onslaught of negativity about Trump, lies. Great President,an American President not like the last criminal we had for 8 long years. Trump has done more for America than any President in 50 years, 1 year. You people that are against Trump would never give him credit. Did you vote for clinton, obama? If so too bad for you.

  • jaltair March 8, 2018 at 9:28 pm

    Democrats have never given Trump a chance from before his election, and the vast liberal news outlets have been giving out liberal bias constantly since. I cannot understand why many of my liberal friends or family have become so hostile. Trump is definitely not perfect, neither was JFK (to me, the best President in my own history). Many men are morally corrupted, so quit throwing stones guys!

    The only thing I can say about my friends and family who are liberals is they must believe “The ends justify the means.” That is the quintessential belief of the Progressive movement as it was and is of any movement that results in a more centralized form of government be it communist, socialist, any other extreme movement. (Remember, the NAZI movement was the National German Socialist Working Party.)

    The “ends” with all this vitriol from the left may mean the dissolution of the Republic of the United States of America if it continues. People who dislike Trump as President need to respect the office and respect the President.

    Trump has accomplished many good things. Try standing back and objectively look at the results. Be honest with yourself. I can see the bad . . . but I can also see a lot of good. Separate the personality from the administrative/business acumen.

    • Death Valley March 9, 2018 at 6:28 am

      And what are you going to do if it’s revealed that your beloved president is nothing more than a Russian tool? Hmmm?
      The fact that you attempt to align Nazis with Progressives says it all. You don’t know what the h e l l you’re talking about.

  • biker11 March 9, 2018 at 7:41 am

    Trump does it again , he has a meeting with North Korean dictator. obama went golfing, clinton gave them nukes. Trump 2020. The whiners and complainers will see this as a negative, because they are negative. We laugh at you clowns.

  • utahdiablo March 9, 2018 at 2:58 pm

    Yet if that POS Hillary got elected you’d want the SR9 named after her? Nothing like the “Mob Rule” huh?

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