Recently, President Donald Trump appeared at Mount Rushmore to give a speech during a pandemic. During the event, he played a song from Neil Young, who’s now suing Trump’s reelection campaign. Around the time of the speech, allegedly the white house started expressing interest in whether there was room for one more on Mount Rushmore…
The Story
For the last two years, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has wanted Trump to give a speech at Mount Rushmore for July 4th. This year, it happened, and it wasn’t a pretty or inspiring sight during a pandemic. Two years ago, Noem herself confirmed Trump wants his face on Mount Rushmore:
“He said, ‘Kristi, come on over here. Shake my hand,’ I shook his hand, and I said, ‘Mr. President, you should come to South Dakota sometime. We have Mount Rushmore.’ And he goes, ‘Do you know it’s my dream to have my face on Mount Rushmore?’ I started laughing. He wasn’t laughing, so he was totally serious.”
Trump, however, downplayed his request:
“I’d ask whether or not you think I will someday be on Mount Rushmore, but here’s the problem: If I did it joking, totally joking, having fun, the fake news media will say ‘he believes he should be on Mount Rushmore. So I won’t say it, OK? I won’t say it.”
As a strange and dark gift, Noem gave Trump a mini four-foot replica of Mount Rushmore with his face added to it. Life always is stranger than fiction.
Trump’s Response
Recently, the Rushmore story has made a comeback in the public following Trump’s speech. The New York Times reported a White House aide reached out to the South Dakota’s governor office, asking, “What’s the process to add additional presidents to Mount Rushmore?” Trump tweeted it’s “fake news,” but still sounds like a good idea to him:
“This is Fake News by the failing @nytimes & bad ratings @CNN. Never suggested it although, based on all of the many things accomplished during the first 3 1/2 years, perhaps more than any other Presidency, sounds like a good idea to me!”
Not Possible
Adding another president to Mt. Rushmore can’t happen and won’t ever happen. It’s just not possible. Everyday Maureen McGee-Ballinger, who is the public information officer at Mount Rushmore, is asked about adding a president. For years, Kennedy, Reagan, Roosevelt, Clinton, and Obama have been campaigned for and suggested.
The Reality of the Situation
The reality is, there’s no room for another president. McGee-Ballinger explained the facts:
“The rock that surrounds the sculpted faces is not suitable for additional carving. When Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of Mount Rushmore died in 1941, his son Lincoln Borglum closed down the project and stated that no more carvable rock existed. The National Park Service takes the position that death stayed the hand of the artist and the work is complete in its present form. Thus, to maintain both the integrity of the structure and the artist’s concept, there is no procedure for adding another likeness, the sculpture is complete.”
McGee-Ballinger argues, too, that nobody should change an artist’s work without their involvement. The artist being, of course, Gutzon Borglum. Sculptor Borglum is the mind behind Mount Rushmore. McGee-Ballinger added:
“The National Park Service takes the position that death stayed the hand of the artist and the work is complete in its present form. Thus, to maintain both the integrity of the structure and the artist’s concept, there is no procedure for adding another likeness, the sculpture is complete.”
Hilariously and sadly, Noem’s response to the situation: joking Trump can find another mountain.
