Trump wants to be part of Mount Rushmore

President Donald Trump has once again placed his name at the center of controversy by releasing a video on Thursday created with artificial intelligence, depicting his face sculpted on Mount Rushmore, alongside those of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

The clip, which garnered over a million views in just a few hours, shows how the four faces gradually change from serious expressions to smiling, as if they are pleased that Trump is with them.

The video does not include any text, but it made the intention clear: to project the image of Trump as the fifth president immortalized in the iconic mountain of South Dakota.

An old aspiration

This is not the first time Trump has referred to the idea.

In 2020, during his visit to the monument on the eve of July 4th, he stated that it seemed like a "good idea" to add his face to the monumental work.

"I never suggested it, although, based on all the many things achieved during the first three and a half years, perhaps more than any other presidency, it seems like a good idea to me!" he wrote at the time on his X account.

That visit included a speech in which he praised the place as an "eternal tribute to our ancestors and our freedom."

In January of this year, Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, representative of Florida's 13th District, took that aspiration a step further: she presented a legislative proposal to add Trump's face to the sculptural ensemble.

"Her remarkable achievements for our country and the success she will continue to reap deserve the highest recognition and honor at this iconic national monument. Let’s carve it out!" stated the legislator of Mexican origin on her social media.

A monument with closed significance

Mount Rushmore was conceived in the 1920s by sculptor Gutzon Borglum as a visual narrative of American history: Washington symbolizes birth and independence; Jefferson, territorial expansion; Roosevelt, industrial development and transformation into a modern power; and Lincoln, the preservation of the Union and the abolition of slavery.

This closed narrative sense has been defended by historians and by the sculptor's family.

Robin Borglum Kennedy, granddaughter of the artist, stated to the New York Times that "it was conceived as a tribute to the ideals of America, not to a specific man."

Technical and legal obstacles

The idea of adding a new face faces considerable barriers.

The National Park Service has made it clear that the sculpted area has been fully assessed, and there are no viable spaces for new carvings.

The Foundation of the Monument agrees that any alteration would jeopardize the stability and artistic balance of the work.

Additionally, any initiative would require the approval of Congress and would have to navigate complex judicial processes, according to experts like Professor Jeremy Paul from Northeastern University.

Between politics and legacy

Trump's insistence on being represented in a national monument reflects his desire to establish a political legacy that extends beyond his term.

In parallel, their allies, such as Congresswoman Luna, are trying to turn that gesture into a concrete project, despite institutional and cultural resistance.

In practice, the possibility of seeing the face of the former president on Mount Rushmore seems unlikely, both due to the physical restrictions of the mountain and the symbolic weight of the original monument.

However, the video popularized by Trump reignited a debate that intertwines history, politics, personality cult, and the ability of artificial intelligence to virtually rewrite the symbols of the nation.

Frequently Asked Questions about Trump's Aspiration to be on Mount Rushmore