Special Poll
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said over the weekend that he “certainly” believes there’s enough space on Mount Rushmore to add President Donald Trump’s face, reigniting a long-running idea that has surfaced multiple times during and after Trump’s first term in office.
Burgum made the remark during an interview with Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law and newly minted host of “My View with Lara Trump” on Fox News. His comments came just days after Trump signed a new executive order giving Burgum broad authority to determine whether public monuments, memorials, or statues removed under the Biden administration present what the order calls a “false construction” of American history.
During their discussion, Lara Trump pointed to Burgum’s new role and asked whether the iconic national memorial might one day feature the 45th and 47th president. “The Department of the Interior is in charge of the National Park Service,”she noted. “The National Park Service manages Mount Rushmore. A lot of people wonder will we ever see President Trump’s face on Mount Rushmore? What do you think?”
“Well, they certainly have room for it there,” Burgum said with a smile, keeping the door open to a possibility that, while symbolic, continues to spark debate.
He also noted that fireworks and major celebrations are being planned for Mount Rushmore and across the countryin 2026 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, adding even more attention to the site in the years ahead.
This isn’t the first time the idea of adding Trump to Mount Rushmore has been floated. During his first term, Trump himself frequently joked and sometimes hinted seriously that his likeness belonged alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. While no official effort has been launched to alter the monument, the suggestion continues to resonate among Trump supporters who see him as a transformational figure in American history.
Critics, however, argue that Mount Rushmore should remain untouched, both out of respect for its original artistic vision and because of the complex historical and cultural issues surrounding the monument itself, which was built on land sacred to the Lakota Sioux.
Still, with Burgum now holding expanded oversight of historical monuments under Trump’s new executive order, questions are swirling about how the administration might reinterpret or restore public displays of American history especially in the run-up to the 2026 semiquincentennial celebrations.
Whether or not a fifth face ever joins the granite giants carved into the Black Hills of South Dakota, the political symbolism of the idea remains potent and Trump’s allies appear eager to keep it in the national conversation.