US Trump "Adding my face to Mount Rushmore? ...Fake news"

"Seems like a good idea, but I never made such a suggestion"

President Donald Trump standing in front of the busts of four former U.S. presidents carved into Mount Rushmore. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Although there were reports that the U.S. White House considered adding a sculpture of President Donald Trump's face to Mount Rushmore, President Trump denied this through social networking services (SNS).

Earlier, the New York Times (NYT) reported on the 9th (local time), citing a Republican official, that last year a White House aide contacted the South Dakota governor's office, where Mount Rushmore is located, inquiring about the procedure for adding another president to Mount Rushmore.

However, after the report, President Trump refuted it in a post on his Twitter account, calling it "fake news." Nevertheless, he said that the idea of carving his own sculpture on Mount Rushmore itself was a good idea.

He wrote, "Based on the fact that I have accomplished more in the past three and a half years than any other president's term, (adding a statue) seems like a good idea to me," but added, "I never made such a proposal."

He continued, "This is fake news from the failed NYT and the bad ranking CNN."

President Trump has previously expressed several times his desire to have his face carved on Mount Rushmore.

Earlier, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem revealed in an interview with a U.S. media outlet in 2018, "When I first met the president, we talked about Mount Rushmore in his office," and added, "At that time, President Trump asked, 'Do you know that it is my dream to have my face carved on Mount Rushmore?'"

She said, "At the time, I thought it was a joke and laughed, but President Trump did not laugh," and "He was really serious."

Governor Noem also presented President Trump with a 120 cm model of Mount Rushmore featuring his face during his visit for the U.S. Independence Day celebration on July 4th.

Meanwhile, Mount Rushmore is a park featuring the carved busts of four former U.S. presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.