It is just within the realm of possibility that someday monuments to Donald Trump will dot the American landscape.
I doubt it, but it is possible.
But that day will not come soon, and it shouldn't.
🚨BREAKING: Rep. Andy Ogles has officially sent a letter to Secretary Doug Burgum calling for President Trump to be added to Mount Rushmore. pic.twitter.com/sQqZwGjMFJ
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 3, 2025
Tennessee Representative Andy Ogles--assuming he's not trolling us, as is quite possible in today's hysterical political environment--seems to think it is a good idea.
We write to urge your consideration of a proposal that reflects the enduring legacy of a consequential American president. Given the scale and scope of recent achievements under President Donald J. Trump-including the enactment of the historic "Big Beautiful Bill" to secure our border, rebuild our military, and slash government bloat to reinvigorate our government and society-it is appropriate to explore the addition of his likeness to Mount Rushmore.
Mount Rushmore honors presidents who represent the birth, growth, development, and preservation of the United States. President Trump's leadership advances each of those pillars.
Like George Washington, he champions American independence and is reshaping the presidency with strength and clarity of purpose. Like Thomas Jefferson, he is expanding America's horizons and pursuing bold reforms that reorient the country's economic direction and return power to the people. Like Theodore Roosevelt, he takes on entrenched interests and is reinvigorating American industry, rebuilding the American military, and safeguarding the working class from bureaucratic overreach. And like Abraham Lincoln, he is fighting to preserve the Union-this time not from secession, but from invasion, drift, decline, and the steady erosion of self-government.
These are not transient accomplishments. They are structural changes with lasting national significance. For decades, historians, economists, and public servants will measure their work against the standards reestablished by President Trump.
We understand that physical modifications to Mount Rushmore raise logistical and preservation questions, but this discussion should not be foreclosed based on past bureaucratic resistance or political discomfort. While meeting the logistical challenges may require engagement with state and/or tribal officials, the national benefit of promptly recognizing President Trump's accomplishments in restoring American greatness makes doing so a priority, and the benefits of elevating the dignity and relevance of the site, thus increasing both its grandeur and its visitor traffic, will accrue to South Dakota, the Lakota Sioux, and the broader area.
This is a terrible idea, although one sure to get people talking. Some MAGA people will love it either because they think it is great or because it would own the libs something fierce. Liberals, of course, will take the bait and have their blue hair-covered heads explode.
As fun as that sounds, it just plays into all the worst fears lefties have, and unintentionally degrades the idea that national symbols should be unifying. Owning the libs is fun and all, but this seems more in line with Trump going to the Smithsonian and appending his name to the Declaration of Independence.
Granted, liberals these days are already down on America and seem to get too much joy burning the flag, defacing our monuments, and begging other countries to sanction the US, but plenty of centrists would be offended by carving Trump's likeness into a mountainside, especially while alive and in office. Just as there shouldn't be federal buildings named after living politicians--there are plenty that are, and I hate it--we should leave our national monuments alone and only build new ones after politicians are safely dead and buried.
Is Ogles serious? Who knows? But we really should tone down the hatred or adulation of political figures.
Besides, I went to Mount Rushmore and found it kinda dull. 8 hours of driving, 5 minutes of "Huh, cool." Then I wondered who it was named after.
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