They Want Trump on Mount Rushmore, and They’re Not Taking No for an Answer!

In a move that has sparked both fascination and controversy, some ardent supporters of former President Donald Trump are calling for his likeness to be added to Mount Rushmore. This campaign, spearheaded by Trump ally Corey Lewandowski, has gained traction among MAGA circles, highlighting Trump’s enduring influence within his base.

Appearing on a popular MAGA social media show, The Benny Show, Lewandowski floated the idea during a conversation with host Benny Johnson. “Some really smart congressman should go and say, Donald Trump’s face on Mount Rushmore,” Lewandowski declared enthusiastically. “What are we waiting on? We got the votes in the House. We got the votes in the Senate. I know a guy is gonna sign it, named Donald John Trump. Let’s get it done to memorialize what this man’s been able to achieve for this country.”

Shortly after Lewandowski’s remarks, Florida Representative Anna Paulina Luna took to social media platform X, revealing, “I’m actually filing the legislation as we speak.” While the chances of such a proposal gaining legislative traction are slim, the movement serves as a symbolic testament to Trump’s legacy in the eyes of his supporters.

Trump’s Rushmore Dream

This isn’t the first time talk of Trump joining the historic monument has surfaced. In 2020, The New York Times reported that Trump’s aides had privately approached South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to explore the process for adding a face to the famous landmark. Noem later revealed in an interview that Trump had expressed his desire to be immortalized on Mount Rushmore during a meeting in the Oval Office in 2018.

“I started laughing,” she recalled. “He wasn’t laughing, so he was totally serious.”

Noem, now Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, has previously described Mount Rushmore as one of the country’s most iconic landmarks. The monument, completed in 1941, features 60-foot-tall carvings of four U.S. presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. Each figure was chosen to represent the country’s founding, expansion, development, and preservation.

The Controversial History of Mount Rushmore

While Mount Rushmore is celebrated by many as a symbol of American pride, it carries a complicated and contentious history. The Black Hills of South Dakota, where the monument is located, were originally sacred land to the Lakota Sioux. In 1868, the U.S. government signed the Treaty of Fort Laramie, granting the Lakota exclusive rights to the region. However, the treaty was broken just a few years later when gold was discovered, and the government seized the land in 1877.

The mountain itself was known as “Six Grandfathers” by the Lakota before being renamed after New York attorney Charles Rushmore, who visited the area in 1884. The displacement of the Lakota people and the monument’s construction on disputed land have led to decades of protests and legal battles.

The Challenges of Adding Another Face

While some supporters dream of seeing Trump’s face added to the mountain, experts say it’s nearly impossible. Much of the rock on Mount Rushmore is unsuitable for carving, making it difficult to even complete Thomas Jefferson’s face during the original project.

The monument’s sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, originally envisioned carving the figures down to their waists and creating a massive “Hall of Records” inside the mountain to house important documents. However, funding issues and the onset of World War II left the project unfinished. Borglum passed away in 1941, and his son Lincoln oversaw its completion, though many elements of the original vision were never realized.

While the idea of adding Trump’s likeness to Mount Rushmore is unlikely to come to fruition, it serves as a bold reminder of his supporters’ admiration and the ongoing political polarization in America. Whether symbolic or sincere, this campaign will likely keep the monument and its history in the spotlight.