Newsweek36%
Donald Trump Posts Gold Replica of Himself On Mount Rushmore 33%
By Marni Rose McFall0%
7/4/2026, 3:47:12 AM
Topics: Donald Trump, Mount Rushmore, America 250, Truth Social, Social Media, Speech, South Dakota, US Politics
Keywords: Donald Trump, Mount Rushmore, America 250, Truth Social, Social Media, Speech, South Dakota
BS Summary: This article contains 25 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, Self-Serving Bias, and Appeal to Emotion, with Appeal to Authority as the most egregious example at 17.2% saturation with 147 hits. Analysis detected 1,241 faulty-reasoning hits from 853 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 41.3% and a BS Rank of 33% (14,819 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 67.70% of the article peer group.
President Donald Trump shared a video to Truth Social, showing a replica of Mount Rushmore, cast in gold, with his face mounted into the national memorial next to Abraham Lincoln.
The video opens with the text “Art of the vision,” with the letters spelled out over an American flag.
A trump voiceover says in the clip, “I will be the greatest president for many, many years to come.”
“And we’re gonna have a lot of fun tonight,” the voiceover continued.
Trump shared the video ahead of a speech at Mount Rushmore, as he kicked off a weekend of celebrations for America’s 250th birthday.
The president travelled to the South Dakota national memorial, which shows the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelet and Abraham Lincoln, and he spoke beneath the towering granite images of the four presidents.
Over the years, Trump has floated the possibility of being memorialized on the mountain, though it is widely understood that this would be unlikely, given space limitations on the mountain's face.
What Did Trump Say at His Mount Rushmore Speech?
During his speech, Trump discussed America’s semiquincentennial and said the U.S. is "the most successful, most accomplished, most exceptional nation ever to exist in human history."
"Tonight we gather on the eve of one of the most extraordinary days in the history of the world," Trump told attendees.
"Tomorrow, we mark 250 years of glorious independence and 250 years of majestic American freedom."
Trump spoke for half an hour and used the speech to warn against what he characterized as growing threats from the political left.
"Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty," Trump said.
"It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor or even 9/11.”
His comments come amid a theme of criticism from the president, amid wider electoral success from progressive Democrats, who have soared to victory in key primaries ahead of the 2026 midterms.
What Have Trump and Republicans Said About Trump on Rushmore?
The idea of adding Trump to Mount Rushmore has circulated for years.
Former South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem recalled that Trump told her during a 2018 Oval Office meeting that it was his "dream" to have his face carved into the mountain.
Trump later addressed the possibility publicly during a 2019 interview with The Hill, joking that answering the question directly would generate "such bad publicity."
In 2020, after reports suggested he had discussed adding himself to the monument, Trump denied formally proposing the idea but wrote on social media: "Never suggested it although, based on all of the many things accomplished during the first 3 1/2 years, perhaps more than any other Presidency, sounds like a good idea to me!"
The president has previously posted renderings of what Rushmore could look like with him as an addition, sharing an AI-generated image of himself depicted alongside the four Mount Rushmore presidents in May of 2026.
The prospect has support among the GOP.
Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida introduced legislation in 2025 directing the Department of the Interior to carve Trump's likeness into Mount Rushmore, arguing that his leadership and accomplishments warranted recognition.
Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee has also publicly urged federal officials to consider the proposal.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers also floated the idea of adding Trump to the monument, saying in a statement to The Washington Post, “There would be no better addition to the iconic Mount Rushmore than the 45th and 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump.”
However, space limitations on the mountain are well documented.
The Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University archived a letter sent to Eleanor Roosevelt, where Mount Rushmore’s sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, said that a fifth head would not be possible given that the “stone limitations are so serious.”
What Happens Next
His appearance at Mount Rushmore came ahead of a separate "Freedom 250" address scheduled for Washington, D.C., on July 4.
The milestone has been years in the making, with a congressionally established commission and affiliated groups coordinating nationwide programming and commemorations.
*This is a developing story; more to follow.
*
Check out all of Newsweek's coverage of America's 250th anniversary:
Massive July 4 Fireworks Display in Washington to Start Later This Year
How Trump's Agenda Clashes with Theodore Roosevelt's Legacy
UFC Freedom 250 Viewership Numbers Break Record, Paramount+ Says
Freedom 250: List of Events After Trump’s Great American State Fair is Modified
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Freedom 250 Fair: What Attendees Can Expect as Artists Pull Out
Utah's Republican Governor Moves to Ban Fireworks Statewide Before July 4: Here's Why
Trump Vows Biggest Fireworks Show in History, His Own Playlist for July 4
Tallest statue in the West proposed to honor America’s 250th anniversary
Map Shows States Skipping America 250 Fair as John Fetterman Steps In
Trump Mulls Replacing Artists Who Pulled Out of Freedom 250 With Himself
Trump’s State Fair Loses Power on First Day
July 4 Heat Dome: Map Shows States Facing Dangerous Temperatures
Speakers
5speakers34%attributed speech559writer words
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Selected voice
100%flagged-word coverageAnna Paulina Luna
31 attributed words11% of attributed speech67% writer coverage
Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.
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Analysis
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