Trump heads to Mount Rushmore, where efforts to impose his likeness have stalled

[orangecrush]

He’s brought it up jokingly at campaign rallies, posted hints on social media and called it a “good idea.” He even raised the possibility with South Dakota’s governor during his first term, saying to then-Gov. Kristi Noem during an Oval Office meeting: “Do you know it’s my dream to have my face on Mount Rushmore?”

“I started laughing,” Noem recalled in a 2018 interview with the Argus Leader. “He wasn’t laughing, so he was totally serious. … I said, ‘Come pick out a mountain.’”

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Nevertheless, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who oversees the National Park Service, said during an interview that there is “certainly” room for Trump’s face. And Trump ally Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, has introduced legislation that would arrange the carving, which she said would “reflect his towering legacy.”

The bill is currently stalled, and her office did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on whether Friday’s trip will prompt a renewed push for passage. The legislation has little to no chance at clearing the Senate, where it would need Democratic votes.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/03/politics/trump-speech-mount-rushmore