Several White House aides reached out to South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem in 2019 and opened the possibility of adding more presidents to Mount Rushmore.
Trump on Mount Rushmore
Trusted sources spoke to The New York Times and detailed how Gov. Noem and President Donald Trump met. The source said that Gov. Noem greeted the president when he arrived in South Dakota for his July Fourth celebrations at the monument. The president included a four-foot replica of Mount Rushmore and he included his face.
Gov. Noem has stated before that President Trump's dream is to have his face included on Mount Rushmore, which is a Coolidge-era sculpture that features the faces of Presidents George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Theodore Roosevelt. The faces are around 60 feet tall and are one of the most famous tourist spots in the United States.
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In an interview with Gov. Noem back in 2018, she said that she talked to the president about the sculpture in the Oval Office during their first meeting. She first thought he was joking when he suggested to include his face in Mount Rushmore. She said she laughed at the idea but Trump wasn't, he was serious the whole time.
Gov. Noem said that Trump asked her to shake his hand, so she did. She also invited the president to visit South Dakota and talked about Mount Rushmore, as reported by CNN.
Trump then revealed that it is his dream to have his face on Mount Rushmore and that he even thought about adding his face to Mount Rushmore during his campaign rally back in 2017 in Youngstown, Ohio.
During his speech to his supporters in South Dakota last July Fourth, Trump defended Mouth Rushmore fiercely. It was at the time when Black Lives Matter activists and native tribal leaders are pointing out and criticized its history and purpose and revealed the gruesome murders and racism that the presidents did against the black community and the Native Americans.
President Trump said in his speech that Mount Rushmore will stand forever as an eternal tribute to America's forefathers, and to the country's freedom. Trump also warned during his speech that there is a "growing danger" that threatens "every blessing " that the ancestors fought so hard for.
Will Trump be added?
A White House official said to The New York Times that Mount Rushmore is a federal monument and not a state monument.
Unfortunately for Trump, it is not physically possible to add another face to the monument. Maureen McGee-Ballinger, a public information officer at Mount Rushmore, said that workers are asked by locals and tourists if it is possible to add another president. People have even suggested John F. Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan.
McGee-Ballinger said in New York Mag that there is no more space that can be carved on the sculpture. When looking at the sculpture, it may look like there is some space left on both sides, but they are rocks that are beyond the sculpture causing an optical illusion.
