Peace and prosperity are symbiotic, and President Trump is superb at engendering them both. Indeed, given his herculean efforts in the Middle East, Europe, South Asia, and elsewhere, he most assuredly deserves recognition — but not the Nobel Peace Prize.
Trump deserves more than that sullied recognition. How about a place on Mount Rushmore?
We remember the farcical award to Obama, simply because he wasn’t Bush. That alone ought to undermine the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s credibility for at least one generation, but there are a host of controversial awardees, including Carter and Arafat. Their 1973 awardees included Le Duc Tho of North Vietnam, prompting the New York Times to call it the “Nobel War Prize.”
The award to the EU in 2012 was also bizarre. There are several more questionable choices, but let’s just recognize that the Nobel Peace Prize is the most contentious of all the Nobel Prizes. President Trump doesn’t deserve that, and the vainglorious selection committee is unworthy of him.
But there’s something better for MAGA posterity…
With favorable developments heralding a realm of Pax Americana, maybe Trump will eventually deserve a place amongst our greatest presidents, forever memorialized in the great heartland of America (not in Scandinavia), atop Mount Rushmore.
Why not? It’d be tricky, but there may be space to the left of Washington, or to the right of Lincoln. Sometimes big and beautiful ideas can elicit resistance from establishment conformists, but given time to reverberate they may come to fruition.
One can envision President Trump adjacent to Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was chosen because he embodies the preservation of the nation, and that’s what President Trump is continuing. His personage inspires feelings of freedom, patriotism and democracy that reflect the message of Mount Rushmore.
Trump also has much in common with the other presidents on Mount Rushmore:
A recent CBS News Poll shows that the top four words used to best describe President Trump are: Tough, 69%; Energetic, 63%; Focused, 60%; and Effective, 58%. The same words aptly apply to the four presidents already on Mount Rushmore. Trump belongs.
Beyond his worthiness looms the issue of practicality. The National Park Service appears to be defeatist, vehemently sticking to the tired talking point that the rock surrounding the faces is unstable and unusable. Well, “impossible is what Americans do best.” In fact, new technology, including 3-D scanning and laser locating, for precise carving, could make Trump’s face feasible on Mount Rushmore.
Mount Rushmore represents the first 150 years of our history. We’re coming up on our 250th anniversary during a presidency where national pride, a symbol of the monument, is celebrated again. Importantly, we are respected around the world. Not only is this a golden age for America, but Pax Americana has the potential to usher in a golden age for much of the world. Remember — peace and prosperity go hand-in-hand, and prosperity prospers under the Businessman-in-Chief.
Even if offered a prize, Trump should stay well away from the Nobel Disease. Why be associated with Obama, Arafat, et al.? They can stick their un-noble prizes in their ears — or some other appropriate orifice. Greater things await if the 45th and 47th becomes the 5th face of Mount Rushmore.
Image from Grok.