Mt. Rushmore, the Shrine of Democracy. It’s perhaps America’s most iconic monument, a “statue” of such scale Democrat/socialist/communist (D/s/c) thugs can’t tear it down, and since it’s at the top of a mountain and the Park Service is keeping an eye on such things, they can’t deface it. That hasn’t stopped them, however, from using it to play politics. During a periodic, 2013 congressional funding battle, Barack Obama shut it down, and even forced rangers to keep people from parking where they might catch a glimpse. For four years, Joe Biden’s handlers refused permission for Independence Day fireworks at the mountain, and D/s/cs have aligned themselves with the occasional Indian “activist” who wants the entire region back for one tribe or another.
Graphic: Mt. Rushmore lighting ceremony. Author
The four faces are 60 feet high and were carved from 1927-1941 under the direction of Gutzon Borglum. There have been many who thought additional worthies deserved to inhabit the mountain:
A bill introduced in Congress in 1937 proposed that a carving of Susan B. Anthony's head be included among the luminaries at Mount Rushmore but fell through due to a rider on the existing appropriations bill mandating that federal funds be spent only on those carvings already begun.
About 400 local residents worked on the mountain and while there were injuries, there were no deaths. South Dakota weather is hard on the granite sculpture, and in 1991, following a $40 million restoration project, Mt. Rushmore‘s 50th anniversary was celebrated. Constant attention is given to the faces to prevent cracks from spreading.
Despite his embargoing Mt. Rushmore, in 2013 there followed periodic calls for adding Barack Obama to the mountain. One would think where to put the ears would give any sculptor pause. More recently, Nancy Pelosi wanted Joe Biden among the greats:
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the country should honor President Biden by adding him to Mount Rushmore.
The 81-year-old commander in chief is “such a consequential president of the United States, a Mount Rushmore kind of president,” Rep. Pelosi (D-Calif.), 84, claimed in a clip aired on “CBS Sunday Morning Show.”
“You have Teddy Roosevelt up there. And he’s wonderful. I don’t say take him down. But you can add Biden,” she insisted when pressed about whether the incumbent president is really worthy of the honor of getting his massive mug engraved in rock at the iconic South Dakota national monument alongside former Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Roosevelt.
And now, some are suggesting Donald Trump deserves a lofty perch:
Graphic: X Screenshot
The idea of carving President Donald Trump’s likeness into South Dakota’s Mount Rushmore is apparently picking up steam.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) told the New York Post that she is introducing legislation to have the job done, the outlet reported Saturday.
Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was the first to propose the move during a recent interview on the Benny Johnson Show:
Social media users were quick to respond to Luna’s message, one person writing, “The democrats would whine for years and years.”
“So badass,” someone else replied, while yet another user said, “Do it. Liberals will so be done. What a time to be alive.”
Indeed they would, but the hair might be an insurmountable challenge. Another actually insurmountable challenge is more down to earth:
Since 1989 the National Park Service has worked with RESPEC, a rock mechanics engineering firm, to study the structural stability of the sculpture and to install rock block monitoring devices that assure long-term preservation of the sculpture, she said.
‘RESPEC supports our long-held belief that no other rock near the sculpted faces is suitable for additional carving.’ [Mount Rushmore National Memorial Chief of Interpretation and Education Maureen] McGee-Ballinger said. ‘RESPEC also believes that if additional work were undertaken it is possible that exposing new surfaces could result in creation of potential instabilities in the existing carving.
It turns out the mountain is only so big, not nearly big enough to contain the egos of those who want their political messiahs forever memorialized—Biden being the likely exception. One suspects those advocating for D/s/c faces were more than serious and those advocating for Donald Trump are doing it mostly in jest and as a playful slap at their humorless political opponents. Trump, doubtless, thinks the idea hilarious.
Still, it’s a shame Trump couldn’t make it; it would have been yuuuuuuge.
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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.