Donald Trump Proposes Mount Rushmore Addition and Installs Rose Garden Statues

President Donald Trump has repeatedly proposed adding his likeness to Mount Rushmore, a goal he promoted during an Independence Day celebration in July 2026. During the event, Trump shared a video depicting his face chiseled into the monument, asserting that he would be the greatest president for many years to come. While White House spokesman Taylor Rogers supported the addition and Representative Anna Paulina Luna introduced a bill to facilitate the carving, the National Park Service and former superintendent Dan Wenk rejected the idea due to geological instability. Tribal nations also oppose the plan, citing the sacred nature of the land.

Parallel to the Mount Rushmore effort, Trump has proposed other monuments, including a triumphal arch at Arlington National Cemetery and a National Garden of Heroes along the Potomac River. He has also focused on elevating historical figures whose monuments were targeted during 2020 racial justice protests. This effort included installing a Christopher Columbus replica on White House grounds in March and creating an outdoor exhibition in downtown Washington featuring Caesar Rodney.

Most recently, Trump secretly installed a life-sized bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson in the White House Rose Garden. Created by artist George Lundeen, the sculpture is part of a broader Rose Garden makeover that replaced the central grass lawn with a stone patio. The Jefferson piece is the fifth statue added to the area, joining figures such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.