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<\/p>\nThe effort to add President Donald Trump to Mount Rushmore gained new momentum Thursday when Republican Congressman Andy Ogles (R-TN) announced he has formally petitioned the government to make it happen\u2014just in time for the 4th of July.<\/p>\n
Ogles revealed that he sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, urging him to consider carving the president\u2019s likeness alongside those of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. This would mark the first addition to the iconic American monument since its completion in 1941.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the scale and scope of President Trump\u2019s recent achievements\u2014especially the impending enactment of the Big Beautiful Bill, the historic act that will ignite America\u2019s Golden Age\u2014it is essential that we immortalize President Trump\u2019s likeness on Mount Rushmore,\u201d Ogles writes. \u201cLike Washington, Trump did not seek his position for glory but out of love for his country, championing American independence and reshaping the presidency with dynamism, clarity, and purpose.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike Jefferson, he expanded America\u2019s horizons by pursuing new frontiers and breaking away from deep state tyrants,\u201d the letter continued. \u201cLike Teddy Roosevelt, Trump took on entrenched interests, reinvigorated American industry, and avenged the working class against bureaucratic bloat and corporate corruption.\u201d He added: \u201cThe legacy of Mount Rushmore cannot remain frozen in stone; it must evolve to reflect the full arc of American history, including its most recent and transformative chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Construction on Mount Rushmore, located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, began in 1927, with the U.S. government covering the majority of the $1 million project cost. Adjusted for inflation, a similar undertaking today would likely exceed $20 million, if not significantly more.<\/p>\n
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Ogles urged Burgum not to let \u201clogical and preservation concerns\u201d overshadow the significance of recognizing Trump\u2019s accomplishments for future generations. \u201cWhile meeting the logistical challenges may require engagement with state and\/or tribal officials, the national benefit of promptly recognizing President Trump\u2019s 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,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The site draws two million visitors each year and costs approximately $2.1 million annually to maintain, according to the Secretary of the Interior\u2019s website. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum originally envisioned the monument as a \u201cShrine to Democracy,\u201d but he passed away months before its completion. His son, Lincoln Borglum, took over as project lead to see it through, and Mount Rushmore was not added to the National Register of Historic Places until 1966.<\/p>\n
During the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump held his 4th of July celebration at Mount Rushmore and hinted at the possibility of his face being carved onto the monument someday, according to then-Governor Kristi Noem.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018Kristi, come on over here. Shake my hand,\u2019\u201d Noem told the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader about a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office. \u201cI shook his hand, and I said, \u2018Mr. President, you should come to South Dakota sometime. We have Mount Rushmore.\u2019 And he goes, \u2018Do you know it\u2019s my dream to have my face on Mount Rushmore?\u2019. I started laughing. He wasn\u2019t laughing, so he was totally serious.\u201d<\/p>\n
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