President Trump ordered the federal government on Friday night to design and build a statuary park in honor of “American heroes,” his latest embrace of the American heritage as opposed to what he described as a left-wing revolutionary movement that ” would erase our values. “
The White House issued the executive order shortly after Trump delivered a combatively political speech on Mount Rushmore denouncing recent acts by anti-racist protesters who destroyed or defaced national monuments. The order declares that “it will not tolerate an assault on our collective national memory.”
Mr. Trump led the creation of a task force, chaired by the Secretary of the Interior, to “expeditiously” open a “National Garden of American Heroes” at a site to be determined. His order specifies 31 Americans the garden must commemorate, a group of mostly white men that includes former presidents, pioneers and explorers, abolitionists, and civil rights heroes.
Mr. Trump’s list of those to be commemorated also highlighted two recently deceased conservative icons: former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and evangelist Billy Graham, as well as former President Ronald Reagan. The lineup does not include contemporary liberals or equivalent Democrats. It includes the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, and Jackie Robinson, the first African-American player in modern major league baseball.
The list also includes John Adams, Susan B. Anthony, Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Frederick Douglass, Amelia Earhart, Alexander Hamilton, Abraham Lincoln, Douglas MacArthur, Christa McAuliffe, George S. Patton, Jr., Betsy Ross, Booker T Washington, George Washington and the Wright Brothers.
Mr. Trump’s order, which does not put a price on the project, only says that it should be located near a population center “in a site of natural beauty that allows visitors to enjoy nature, walk among the statues and be inspired to learn about great figures in American history. ” He also notes that all the statues in the garden “will be realistic or realistic representations of the people they represent, not abstract or modernist representations,” echoing past efforts within the Trump administration to reject modernist designs for federal projects.
“Presidents certainly have a role in shaping national conversations about the meaning of our history. But this comes as a desperate act of political exaltation for their base, “said Kevin K. Gaines, professor of social justice and civil rights at the University of Virginia.” Washington DC is already full of national monuments for some of the revered figures on Trump’s list of heroes. “
Julian E. Zelizer, a professor of political history at Princeton University, agreed that Trump’s order seemed very political.
“I cannot imagine that this is not used as a way of not honoring the history of the United States, but of presenting a very particular version of the history of the United States,” he said.
The order says the task force will be made up of several federal officials, including the administrator of the General Services Administration and the presidents of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Directs the working group to submit a report within 60 days with the proposed locations and other options for creating the site.
The order indicates that the future garden would feature more Americans than Trump specifically named, primarily offering conventional categories for inclusion, such as military heroes, businessmen, astronauts, recipients of the Medal of Honor or Presidential Medal of Freedom, religious and labor . leaders, “defenders of the poor and disadvantaged”, and “authors, intellectuals, artists and teachers”.
The order also identifies itself as “historically significant” Americans “opponents of national socialism or international socialism” as well as “police officers and firefighters killed or injured in the line of duty.” “
“None will have lived perfect lives, but all will be worth honoring, remembering, and studying,” says Trump’s order.
Trump issued his order after speaking at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, where he warned that he would be “rolling out federal law enforcement” to protect national monuments and prosecute protesters seeking to disfigure or overthrow them.
Since the mass protests over the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis began, protesters have overthrown several statues of Confederate generals and leaders, but in some cases have also spray painted or smashed monuments to national icons like George. Washington and Abraham Lincoln
Mr. Trump angrily denounced such actions on Friday night, issuing a broader defense of the American heritage against what he called “angry mobs” led by radical leftists “trying to tear down the statues of our Founders, deface our monuments more sacred and unleash a wave. ” of violent crimes in our cities. “
“His goal is not a better America, his goal is to end the United States,” said Trump.
His executive order added that “The United States owes its present greatness to its past sacrifices. Because the past always runs the risk of being forgotten, monuments will always be needed to honor those who came before. “
Gaines said the order “proposes a redundant test balloon with enough examples of notable African-Americans and women to promote a mythical and racist authoritarian view of the past that glorifies violence by white settlers.”
“What most people of conscience would recognize as tragic aspects of the past: the stolen lands of Indian nations and the stolen lives and work of enslaved Africans, Trump obviously wants us to celebrate,” he added.
