US President Trump has moved to address recent media allegations about the White House reaching out to the office of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem about adding POTUS' likeness to the iconic Mount Rushmore monument.
As The New York Times reports, Trump previously told Noem "in the Oval Office that he aspired to have his image etched on the monument”, while last year, a White House official contacted the governor's office and, "according to a Republican official familiar with the conversation", made the following inquiry: "What’s the process to add additional presidents to Mount Rushmore?"
Trump branded the reports as "fake news", arguing that he "never suggested it although, based on all of the many things accomplished during the first 3 1/2 years, perhaps more than any other Presidency", it does sound like "a good idea" to him.
This is Fake News by the failing @nytimes & bad ratings @CNN. Never suggested it although, based on all of the many things accomplished during the first 3 1/2 years, perhaps more than any other Presidency, sounds like a good idea to me! https://t.co/EHrA9yUsAw
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2020
A short time later, he also tweeted a picture of himself, with the image of the Mt Rushmore monument serving as the backdrop.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2020
Trump's move quickly elicited a barrage of criticism online, with NYT's Maggie Haberman, who co-authored the aforementioned story, remarking that the US president "never suggested it, he’s merely suggesting it".
He never suggested it, he’s merely suggesting it, per this tweet. (And also Noem saying it on record in a 2018 interview). https://t.co/gkOpjlgaPQ
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) August 10, 2020
Here ya go pic.twitter.com/zK4sOCF9MY
— The Drake 🇺🇸🇨🇦🏴☠️ (@if_you_see_kaye) August 10, 2020
So you “never suggested it,” as you suggest it right now.
— Mrs. Krassenstein (@HKrassenstein) August 10, 2020
The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a massive sculpture carved into the side of Mount Rushmore located in South Dacota, featuring the heads of four Presidents of the United States: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt.
