Trump presidential limo gets ‘Taxation Without Representation’ license plate

Donald Trump’s presidential limousine is sporting the District of Columbia’s politically tinged “Taxation Without Representation” license plate, The Washington Post reported.

The slogan is a tongue-in-cheek dig at the District’s lack of voting representation in Congress, and a play on the famous slogan, “No taxation without representation,” which was used in the American colonies to voice dissatisfaction with colonists’ lack of representation in British Parliament.

The license plates bearing the phrase first came into use in 2000, and were installed on the presidential limo in the final weeks of Bill Clinton’s presidency.

{mosads}Former President George W. Bush had the plates removed during his eight years in office. Barack Obama brought the plates back into use just days before he began his second term in office.

One long-proposed solution to D.C.’s representation conundrum is granting the District statehood, a prospect support by both Clinton and Obama during their presidencies.  

Washington, D.C., voters overwhelmingly voted to make the District the 51st state in November. But because the area is a federal district and falls under the authority of Congress, the ballot measure alone doesn’t guarantee statehood.

That measure also provides for the creation of a smaller federal district where much of the federal government is already based.

And it’s unlikely that a Republican-controlled Congress would grant D.C. such a status. The District is heavily Democratic, making it likely that voters would elect Democrats to Congress, giving the party more sway and a greater chance of retaking a majority.  

Trump told The Post last year that he had “no position” on the issue, but mentioned that he doesn’t “see statehood for D.C.”