>> no one there calls it Reagan National—always Washington National or just National <<
Actually, long before DCA was renamed for Pres. Reagan, everybody I knew just called it “National Airport” — liberals and conservatives alike. Not a nefarious leftwing plot. So not to worry.
And BTW, I first came to the area in 1966. I can’t remember over those 49 years that anybody other than radio and TV announcers would regularly go to the trouble of using the full six-syllable name “Washington National” when one word would do. Just a matter of convenience.
“Actually, long before DCA was renamed for Pres. Reagan, everybody I knew just called it “National Airport” — liberals and conservatives alike. Not a nefarious leftwing plot. So not to worry.”
Oh, I know that it was called National long before it was renamed, and that much of the resistance to calling it Reagan is just typical resistance to renaming things (like the RFK/Triboro bridge in NYC). But I did hear numerous times, from DC natives, that the resistance was at least boosted by dislike for Reagan.