Trump On Mt Rushmore? How About A Mugshot Instead? They’re Putting Trump On Everything Except Trial

Before The Fall, The Statues are Rising

"Bent Forms # 1" by Ricky Swallow

Yesterday, I drove for a stretch down the Barack H. Obama Freeway between Pasadena and Glendale. It’s not that common to name things after sitting presidents. People or institutions usually wait until a president is out of office or has passed away to honor them with namesakes like buildings, streets or monuments. This delay often stems from respect for the office’s impartiality, avoiding political bias or allowing time to assess a president’s legacy. For example, airports like Reagan National in Virginia and JFK in New York were named after those presidents’ deaths. However, there are rare exceptions, like schools or minor landmarks named during a presidency, often in politically aligned areas. I couldn’t find much data on this, but historical precedent leans toward posthumous or post-tenure honors.

Predictably, MAGA has a very different approach. As Trump’s job approval ratings continue to sink, the GOP can’t stop coming up with ways to honor him. And not with regional sewage systems that would be appropriate. Will the GOP’s Trump Era Legacy be monuments to madness? It’s worth mentioning that after Trump was given a Hollywood Walk of Fame star (2007), it was not just urinated on constantly but had to be fenced off because of people defecating on it. It was later vandalized and smashed to bits and may be the first walk of Fame star to ever be removed. “Although multiple City Council members said they do not support the former president and would like to see his star removed, nobody knows exactly how to make that happen. Several groups with varying levels of jurisdiction have a hand in operating the Walk of Fame, including the City Council, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the Hollywood Historic Trust. The removal of a star is unprecedented, and a process for doing so has never been established… Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez, who represents the district containing the Walk of Fame, may be more likely to take action. ‘Trump is a racist, fascist, and a threat to our democracy,’ Soto-Martínez said in a statement. ‘Since there’s no known precedent for removing a star from the Hollywood Walk of Fame, we’re looking into where the authority lies, what the legal issues may be, and what a process for it might look like.’”

The Associated Press reported that “Trump is six months into his second term, but some Republicans are ready to elevate him into the pantheon of American greats, proposing an ever-growing list of bills paying tribute well before his second term ends. One lawmaker even proposes carving his face into Mount Rushmore. It’s a legislative exercise mixing flattery and politics, providing another stark reminder of the Republican Party’s transformation under Trump as lawmakers from red-leaning states and congressional districts look for ways to win the president’s good graces— and stay close to his supporters… House Republicans moved quickly to honor Trump after his second term began. The bill to rename Dulles International Airport in Virginia after Trump was introduced 72 hours after his swearing in… [Texas neo-fascist] Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas waited a few more weeks before sponsoring his bill to put Trump on the $100 bill, which now features Benjamin Franklin. His legislation stated no $100 bill printed after Dec. 31, 2028, could be printed without Trump’s portrait on the front, even though federal law bans living figures from being placed on U.S. currency. That law, enacted just after the Civil War, was intended to avoid the appearance of a monarchy. Another proposal from Rep. Greg Steube of Florida would rename Washington’s subway system the Trump Train. There’s also a bill from Rep. Claudia Tenney of New York making June 14 a new federal holiday called ‘Trump’s Birthday and Flag Day.’ Perhaps the most daring idea comes from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, who wants the Interior Department secretary to arrange for Trump’s likeness to be carved into Mount Rushmore alongside Washington, Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt. She has two models of it in her office.”

Trump— the top enabler of Israeli genocide and other war crimes in Gaza— has consistently demanded a Nobel Peace Prize. Although that seems extremely remote, many Republican members of Congress have joined the effort. Trump shills like Bernie Moreno (OH), Marsha Blackburn (TN) and Claudia Tenney (NY) have made a point of advocating for that.

And since former prostitute who met Trump through Jeffrey Epstein, Melania, is supposedly “a supporter of the arts,” Mike Simpson (R-ID) is trying to get Congress to name that Kennedy Center opera house for her. There is no record of Melania having ever gone to an opera performance in her life, a performance of the musical Les Misérables on June 11, 2025 being the closest she’s ever come.

Many Republicans consider lauding Trump in legislation as smart politics. Trump’s endorsement helped catapult many lawmakers into elected office, and his support could be helpful as individual members try to get their priorities into law.

Plus, Trump wields his endorsement aggressively to replace members he finds disloyal and reward allies. He’s already endorsed Gill and Luna for reelection in 2026, calling them “MAGA Warriors.”

But the power of a Trump endorsement extends beyond the primary, especially in the midterm elections.

“In the general election, they just send a signal to Trump voters to turn out, to trust somebody and vote for them,” said Steve Stivers, former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Democrats have taken note of the flurry of Trump tributes, seeing it as a chance to portray a pliant Republican majority as being focused on placating Trump rather than helping Americans.

“House Republicans continue to embarrass themselves,” said Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. “These people are sycophants.”

House Republicans are unembarrassable. It’s ll about winning in their gerrymandered districts. Nothing else seems to matter to them. Meanwhile, Democrats are bing beaten up by their own base— at this point, just figuratively— to go out and do something to stop Trump’s onslaught. Senate Dems are ready to blow another opportunity to stymie Trump. Some want to stop him; others are looking for a deal, what Dick Durnin calls a  “quid pro quo” to help pass his agenda and confirm his hideous cast of nominees.

Cory Booker’s fiery-but-100% performative faux protest on Tuesday, urging his party to “have a backbone” in dealing with Trump— while he was voting to confirm Trump’s nominees and pass his genocide agenda— is the opposite of the principled progressive stand media morons are calling it.

Elizabeth Warren and some actual progressives “are questioning why they should agree to help the administration fast-track filling its ranks at all, though plenty of other Democrats would disagree… The immediate stakes of Democrats’ strategy are limited to the fate of their August recess for the moment. But how they move now could set the stage for the bigger looming test: averting a Sept. 30 government shutdown. They don’t want a repeat of the spring showdown where Schumer infuriated Democratic activists by helping to advance a GOP-written funding bill. ‘The Republicans can roll us once, but we sure as hell shouldn’t let them roll us a second time,’ Warren said in a brief interview.”

I haven’t heard anyone bring up a proposal to replace Schumer as leader, so… they should be ready to be rolled again and again and again. There’s something deeply dystopian about a political party obsessed with deifying a twice-impeached, thrice-indicted authoritarian… while the opposition party can’t even decide whether to stand in their way. Republicans are rushing to name every monument, dollar bill, and public toilet after Trump like he’s Augustus Caesar returned from conquest. Democrats, meanwhile, are trapped in a cycle of performative concern and strategic paralysis, too timid to block his appointees, too afraid to shut down his agenda and too eager to cut deals with a movement that wants to end democracy as we know it. The contrast should be a lot clearer. MAGA Republicans are trying to etch Trump into the granite of American memory— literally— while the worthless Democratic establishment seems unsure whether they even want to mount a meaningful resistance. A party that once branded itself as a "firewall" against fascism now waffles, hedges and hopes that someone else will take the risk of real opposition. Instead of using their leverage to obstruct Trump’s grotesque power grabs, they’re letting themselves be rolled by Schumer’s complacency and Booker’s theatrics.

Trump may get his face on currency, a mountain, or a metro line, but the more pressing question is this: will there be anything left of the republic by the time he’s done being celebrated? History doesn’t remember the cowards who politely asked tyrants to slow down. It remembers the ones who stood up— early, clearly and without apology. Like Bernie— yesterday he announced he’s bringing the Fighting Oligarchy Tour to West Virginia (Wheeling, Lenore in Mingo County and Charleston, August 8 and 9) and to Greensboro and Asheville, North Carolina on the 10th). I bet former-Governor Roy Cooper, the Democratic candidate for the open Senate seat, isn’t savvy enough to join Bernie on stage on the 10th. He’s way too busy running as a “moderate.”