“These statues are not only ours, to be discarded at the whim of those inflamed by fashionable political passions; they belong to generations that have preceded us and generations not yet born,” reads Trump’s executive order, an opinion he conveyed. repeatedly to his house. its demonstration in South Dakota and in the weeks before.
The executive order to establish the park, which had not been announced in advance, sets the stage for what could be a heated debate that prominent American figures enter. The order proposes statues of 28 Americans, including John Adams, Susan B. Anthony, Davy Crockett, Frederick Douglass, Amelia Earhart, Billy Graham, Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, Jackie Robinson, Harriet Tubman, and George Washington.
The executive order also floats to include Christopher Columbus and Junípero Serra, two Europeans immortalized in the history of the United States for their role in colonizing North America, but whose involvement in the deaths and slavery of Native Americans has been under intense scrutiny for years. Protesters have toppled statues of both figures in recent weeks.
In response to the destruction of monuments across the country, the President has asked protesters to damage federal monuments for a decade in prison, and has threatened to cut federal funds to cities that do not protect statues. Those same prioritized procedural actions would also be used to protect Trump’s statue garden, the president states in his executive order.
Perhaps in another nod to the president’s supporters, or “my people,” as Trump refers to them, the order states that the numbers will be included: “None will have lived perfect lives, but all will be worth honoring, remembering, and studying.” ” ”
Trump in recent weeks has strongly opposed the removal of monuments to historical figures whose connections to slavery, colonialism, or racist politics. Infamously, Trump blamed “both sides” for the deadly violence perpetrated by white supremacists and neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, after plans to remove a statue of Confederate Commander General Robert E. Lee from a park.
The president’s words sparked nationwide protest and infrequent criticism within his own party.
Trump’s order may fuel more conflict in Congress, which would probably have to provide funding for any national monument garden.
“To the extent that Congress wants to participate, it is likely to be extremely controversial,” said Carl Tobias, Williams law professor at the University of Richmond, adding that Trump will likely need the support of Congress to fund the monuments with the project. appropriations law
Congress has also recently seen its own debate on Confederate statues after President Nancy Pelosi in June called for the removal of nearly a dozen statues scattered throughout the Capitol building. A day later, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said statues were placed by states, which receive two allocations.
Congress’s immediate reaction to Trump’s executive order was silenced.
On Wednesday, Trump hung the possibility of a veto on any defense bill that erases the names of Confederate figures from military bases, tweeting that the names have become part of a “Great American heritage.”
In his Mount Rushmore speech, he tore apart national conversations about revered American figures who owned slaves or advocated racist policies as a “left-wing cultural revolution [that] it is designed to overthrow the American Revolution. “
“The radical view of American history is a web of lies: all perspectives are removed, all virtues are obscured, every motive twisted, every fact distorted, and every flaw magnified until history is purged and it disfigures the record beyond recognition, “Trump said Friday.
The executive order establishes a working group for the project, which will be chaired by the Secretary of the Interior. If everything goes according to Trump’s plan, and there is no guarantee that it will, the garden will be open on July 4, 2026.
In the short term, it indicates that there is no end to a divisive wedge issue that the president believes he can use to his advantage as he heads for the final leg of his re-election campaign in the polls.
