Despite a much publicized resolution by the City of West Hollywood urging for the removal of President Donald Trump’s star from the Hollywood Walk of Fame, chances are it will stay right where it is.
As critics were quick to note: West Hollywood has no say in the matter. The historic landmark has been run by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce since 1962. The City of Los Angeles, which owns the sidewalk, approves all stars recommended by the Chamber.
The Chamber has already made it clear it has no intention of revoking Trump’s star.
“As of now, there are no plans to remove any stars from the Hollywood Walk of Fame,” Leron Gubler, president and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, said in a Monday statement. “The West Hollywood City Council does not have jurisdiction over the Hollywood Walk of Fame.”
The Chamber has been steadfast about its policy in the past, resisting public pressure to remove stars for disgraced honorees such as Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, saying that a star is part of “the historic fabric” of the site.
A representative for council member Mitch O’Farrell, who represents the district where the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located, declined to say whether the city might intervene in the matter.
“I consider Donald J. Trump treasonous and his administration a criminal enterprise; however that does not justify vandalism to the Walk of Fame which is a National historic monument,” O’Farrell told the TheWrap in a statement. “Talk about the star’s removal is only a distraction to the task at hand: Putting all of our energies into defeating his mean spirited, reckless agenda. I urge people to get involved politically so that some day his star will only be considered a curiosity, representative of a con man that once served as President of the United States.”
A spokesman for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told TheWrap: “We’re focused a lot more on removing Trump and his Republican allies from office than on star removals.”
West Hollywood’s resolution noted several reasons for its demand to revoke the star, including the now infamous “Access Hollywood” tape, in which the president could be heard boasting about sexually assaulting women. The resolution also cited the separation of children from their parents at the U.S. border.
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has said that once it receives a communication from the City of West Hollywood, it will be referred to its Executive Committee for “consideration at their next meeting.”
West Hollywood Mayor John Duran told TheWrap the resolution will be signed and delivered to the Chamber later this week.
“I think the Chamber of Commerce is hoping the story will blow over,” Duran said. “With a news cycle such as this, people will move on to the next story in a few days.”
But, Duran added, there is one way the star could be removed. But, he indicated, it’s a long shot.
“If the investigation [into Russian interference into the 2016 election] starts to grow legs and the evidence shows that there was treason, how could anyone argue to keep the star just because it’s a historical landmark?”
Duran argued that other landmarks, like confederate statues, are being removed after cultural shifts have deemed them offensive.
“Are you really going to keep a star for someone who committed crimes against the U.S?” Duran asked.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.