President Donald Trump returned to Mount Rushmore on Friday night with a familiar question following him: whether the granite monument to four former presidents should someday include his own face.
The visit came on the eve of the United States’ 250th anniversary celebrations, placing Trump below the carvings of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. The setting gave fresh attention to an idea he has entertained for years but did not directly press in his speech.
Ahead of the appearance, the White House embraced the notion. Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman, said: “There would be no better addition to the iconic Mount Rushmore than the 45th and 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump.”
Trump used his remarks to praise the presidents already carved into the mountain, saying their faces were there to remind Americans who they are. He did not call for new carving at the memorial.
The idea has not disappeared from his orbit. About five weeks before the visit, Trump posted digital mock-ups on Truth Social showing his face beside the existing presidents. Earlier in his political career, he publicly joked about the subject, then described it as a good idea while pointing to his record in office.
Supporters have tried to move the proposal from image to policy. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida filed a bill in January 2025 directing the Interior Department to start the process of adding Trump to the memorial. Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee later asked Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to explore the same possibility.
But the mountain itself may be the barrier. Mount Rushmore officials have previously said there is no more carvable space on the sculpture, and that apparent room near Lincoln is an optical illusion.
