Florida Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna has introduced legislation to add President Donald Trump’s face to Mount Rushmore. Luna announced the bill on social media, arguing that Trump’s achievements merit “the highest recognition” on Mount Rushmore. Her message ended with a rallying call: “Let’s get carving!”
If this current bill is approved, the proposal would require the U.S. Department of the Interior to add Trump’s likeness to Mount Rushmore alongside Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln. Luna argued that the monument should reflect Trump’s “towering legacy,” symbolizing national strength and freedom.
The idea of adding Trump to Mount Rushmore has circulated for years. In 2018, former South Dakota Governor and recently appointed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recalled a conversation with Trump expressing his desire to be included on the monument. “Do you know it’s my dream to have my face on Mount Rushmore?” Noem quoted Trump as saying.
At a 2017 rally, Trump joked about the idea of his face on Mount Rushmore, noting that if he mentioned it in jest, the media would claim he seriously believed it. “So I won’t say it, OK? I won’t say it,” he quipped.
Fox News panelists recently weighed in on the idea, with former Rep. Jason Chaffetz praising Trump for “transforming the United States” and prioritizing America first. Former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany suggested that adding his face for the nation’s 250th anniversary “would be epic.”
The bill is expected to face significant opposition and is unlikely to gain the bipartisan support needed to pass Congress. Additionally, Native American tribes have long opposed Mount Rushmore itself, as the monument was carved into the Black Hills, a site sacred to the Lakota people. Nick Tilsen, president of NDN Collective, stated, “Mount Rushmore is a symbol of white supremacy, of structural racism that’s still alive and well in society today.”
Trump has denied reports that his administration inquired about adding his face to Mount Rushmore. In 2020, he called the claims “Fake News” but added that, given his accomplishments, it “sounds like a good idea to me.”
Other lawmakers have put forth initiatives to commemorate Trump. North Carolina Rep. Addison McDowell introduced a bill last week to rename Washington Dulles International Airport after the president. Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles proposed a constitutional amendment to allow Trump to run for a third term, though the proposal has no realistic chance of success.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi once suggested adding President Joe Biden to Mount Rushmore, calling him “a Mount Rushmore kind of president” in an August 2024 interview. The idea drew sharp criticism from conservatives.
Luna’s proposal to add Trump to Mount Rushmore faces steep challenges. While supporters consider it a deserved honor, critics call it politically divisive and impractical.
Mount Rushmore was conceived in the 1920s to promote tourism in South Dakota. Historian Doane Robinson proposed the idea, and sculptor Gutzon Borglum was chosen to lead the project.
Carving began in 1927 and continued for 14 years, with workers using dynamite and drills to shape the massive granite faces. Despite funding challenges and Borglum’s death in 1941, the monument was completed under his son, Lincoln Borglum.
In 1937, while the monument was still under construction, a bill was introduced in Congress to include women’s rights activist Susan B. Anthony, but it did not pass. After President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, there were suggestions to add his likeness.
Similar proposals emerged for President Ronald Reagan in 1985 and 1999, with the latter even leading to a debate in Congress. In 2008, when asked about the possibility of his addition, then-Senator Barack Obama humorously remarked that his ears were too large.