Latest news with #NationalGardenOfAmericanHeroes
Times
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Times
Trump's garden of American heroes has one key omission, says his sculptor
President Trump has long joked about dreaming of having his face carved into Mount Rushmore alongside Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln. In July 2020, when he visited the monument in his first term, an enterprising photographer happened to capture how that might look: Yet it is another dream Trump first announced that day which is set to come true. Some $40 million of funding for a 'national garden of American heroes' — a Madame Tussauds-style sculpture park — has been earmarked under Trump's landmark One Big Beautiful Bill, which passed on July 4. An ambitious goal is set to complete it by the same date next year, to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Although the location has not been officially announced, it is likely to be a site near the Rushmore monument in South Dakota, according to Steven Barber, a sculptor involved in the garden project. Larry Rhoden, the state's governor, wrote to Trump earlier this year suggesting a 40-acre plot in the Black Hills. 'There's a group of wealthy folks in South Dakota,' Barber, 64, said. 'They're gonna give him the land. It's all being done through the governor of South Dakota. And it's gonna move quickly because he wants to do this. Because he's a patriot and he cares about this country.' After his 2020 speech announcing plans for the park Trump signed an order for its construction in 2021, naming 244 'heroes' for inclusion. President Biden cancelled the plans but they have been resurrected, now with 250 people in mind. The list of names in the 2021 order included celebrities like Walt Disney, John Wayne, Johnny Cash and Whitney Houston, as well as giants from US history such as George Washington, Ronald Reagan and the explorer Sacagawea. There were titans of American conservatism such as Antonin Scalia, the former Supreme Court justice, the right-wing intellectual William Buckley Jr and the evangelical preacher Billy Graham. There were also cherished liberals including Martin Luther King Jr and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the longest-serving woman on the Supreme Court. Then there was Kobe Bryant, the former LA Lakers basketball player who died in a helicopter crash in 2020. 'It ain't a bunch of white guys. It's women, it's Indians, it's African-Americans, there's LBGQT [sic],' Barber said. 'Everyone's involved. So it's not a racist, white monument park. It's a huge representation of America.' At present Trump himself is not on the list, which includes only the dead. But Barber believes his own work, a 9ft bronze statue given to the president earlier this year, will eventually be included. 'This president took a bullet for America,' he said. 'Of course he's a hero.' The criteria for sculptures is quite specific. They must be 'life-size and made of marble, granite, bronze, copper or brass'. Barber's sculpture of Trump broadly meets these specifications — other than the size. 'It's ready to go,' he said. 'So why wouldn't he [include it]?' It is a better idea, according to Barber, than adding Trump to Mount Rushmore itself. That would be like putting 'Bart Simpson on the bottom of the Mona Lisa', he said. 'Mount Rushmore is somebody else's artwork [completed in 1941]. Why would you even think about bastardising somebody else's artwork?' • 'Don Colossus': why a 15ft bronze Trump statue will tower over Ohio The US president expressed his first-term desire to build a national garden of American heroes on a visit to Mount Rushmore, in response to a fraught debate over American history triggered by the killing of George Floyd. 'Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values and indoctrinate our children,' Trump said in the 2020 speech. 'So today, under the authority vested in me as president of the United States, I am announcing the creation of a new monument to the giants of our past. 'I am signing an executive order to establish the national garden of American heroes, a vast outdoor park that will feature the statues of the greatest Americans to ever live.' The National Endowment for the Humanities has offered grants of $200,000 per sculpture, with a maximum of three sculptures per artist. The total funding allocated to the project is similar to the $44 million spent on the First World War memorial that recently opened in Washington. Barber, a former film producer from California who does not build his own creations but commissions them from a studio, is pitching to create likenesses of Amelia Earhart, Davy Crockett and Neil Armstrong: He has known the US president since the 1990s, when he sold advertising in a luxury magazine to Trump to promote his golf courses. • Trump's golf partner reveals the secrets of his game He said the national garden would be a rebuke to the Americans who have campaigned in recent years to tear down statues of Confederate generals. 'I find it offensive that they pull down monuments from the Confederacy,' he said. 'For us to completely whitewash the Civil War and rip these monuments down? Another Civil War is inevitably going to happen, right? That's what these monuments are for.'
The Independent
15-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump's ‘Hero garden' is coming - where Abraham Lincoln will stand next to Julia Child
Americans could soon get the chance to walk by life-size statues of luminaries, including Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Muhammad Ali, after President Donald Trump's 'National Garden of American Heroes' was greenlit. Packed into the president's so-called 'big, beautiful bill' that was passed earlier this month is a 2025 executive order to build the garden to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence. Trump originally proposed the garden in January 2021 as confederate statues were being torn down across the country. The initial executive order states: 'The National Garden is America's answer to this reckless attempt to erase our heroes, values, and entire way of life.' The newly passed legislation carves out $40 million to build the garden filled with statues of deceased historical figures — in either marble, granite, bronze, copper, or brass, according to the National Endowment for the Humanities. The 2021 executive order laid out nearly 250 names, including TV fixtures Julia Child and Alex Trebek, literary icons Emily Dickinson and Edgar Allen Poe, pioneers Amelia Earhart and Sally Ride, sports stars Kobe Bryant and Jackie Robinson, scientists Albert Einstein and Jonas Salk, performers Whitney Houston and Humphrey Bogart, and former presidents Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan. A White House spokesperson confirmed to The Independent the White House is planning on using the list from the 2021 executive order when considering which statues will be made for the garden. The original list includes 53 persons of color and 53 women, according to a Washington Post analysis. Notably, the 2021 list was made years before Trump's anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion push. As a result, federal agencies have since scrubbed references to several historic figures they deemed as 'DEI' material, including civil rights heroes and trailblazing Black Americans. In March, the Pentagon removed a webpage about Jackie Robinson, who famously broke baseball's color barrier. A spokesperson for the Pentagon told The Independent at the time: 'As Secretary Hegseth has said, DEI is dead at the Defense Department. Discriminatory Equity Ideology is a form of Woke cultural Marxism that has no place in our military.' Although the original plan was to open the park in time for the July 4, 2026 celebration, the president now hopes for the garden to be completed 'as expeditiously as possible,' according to the 2025 executive order. The site of the garden hasn't yet been determined, but South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden suggested the park be built in his state's Black Hills. In a March letter to Trump, he said: 'We have a plot of land available in sight of Mount Rushmore that would be ideal for this fantastic effort.' Local indigenous groups have opposed the idea.
Washington Post
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Who'll be in Trump's hero garden? There are a few surprises.
The list of nearly 250 includes the famous, the obscure and, in some cases, the intentionally controversial. Perhaps in a few years, you'll be able to stroll through a garden — location TBA — past life-size statues of 250 mostly famous Americans and American-adjacent folks, from George Washington and Rosa Parks to Dr. Seuss, Christopher Columbus, Muhammad Ali and Elvis. A tiny chunk of the big bill that President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4 allots $40 million to create a 'National Garden of American Heroes,' a park Trump first proposed during the racial justice protests of 2020, when many Confederate and other monuments nationwide were being toppled. So if the garden is a go, who are the heroes? A 2021 executive order listed 244 mostly household names, all deceased, who embodied 'the American spirit of daring and defiance, excellence and adventure, courage and confidence, loyalty and love.' The list comes with one giant caveat: These people were chosen four years before Trump's 'anti-DEI' scrubbing of references to some notable people, including Black, Hispanic and female veterans, from federal spaces. A White House spokesperson said in an email last week that the final list of honorees remains under consideration. Astronauts, explorers and pioneers Hover on a bubble to explore the data Hover on a bubble to explore the data 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 Daniel Boone Daniel Boone Amelia Earhart Amelia Earhart Sally Ride Sally Ride The list was compiled by members of a task force who asked for input from state and local officials. Another executive order, in January of this year, states that a few names will be added by the assistant to the president for domestic policy, a role held by Vince Haley, for a total of 250. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement Most were (relatively) recent, some were controversial Birth dates of people on the list range from the mid-1400s to the late 1900s. About half were in their prime during the 20th century. Astronauts, explorers and pioneers 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 Columbus b. 1451 Daniel Boone Daniel Boone Amelia Earhart Amelia Earhart Sally Ride Sally Ride Because Trump thought some protesters went too far in removing statues, he wanted the garden to include significant historical figures despite their flaws. The earliest person on the list is Columbus, the celebrated Italian explorer who also brutalized Native people in the Caribbean. The most recent is NBA superstar and 'girl dad' Kobe Bryant, who died at 41 with his daughter in a helicopter crash on his way to coach her basketball team. Seventeen years earlier, he had grappled with a sexual assault allegation. TV, movie, music and sports figures 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 Kobe Bryant Kobe Bryant Billie Holiday Billie Holiday In between are scores of people who fought for liberty, some of whom owned enslaved people, and scores more who changed the world in positive ways, but not necessarily for everybody. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement A few immigrants, a lot of New Yorkers More than 1 in 10 people on the list were born in New York, not including crooner Frank Sinatra, from nearby Hoboken, New Jersey, who sang Trump's favorite version of 'My Way.' They include poet Walt Whitman, Yankees slugger Lou Gehrig and polio vaccine creator Jonas Salk. At least nine states have no homegrown 'heroes' — 10, if you believe President Andrew Jackson was born north of the border between the Carolinas. (No one is sure.) D.C. has representation, though: jazz great Duke Ellington and Tuskegee Airmen leader Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Puerto Rico, too, with baseball Hall of Famer and humanitarian Roberto Clemente. Inventors, scientists and pioneers in medicine 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 Luis Walter Alvarez Luis Walter Alvarez Samuel Morse Samuel Morse Thirty-seven people on the list were born abroad, in 20 countries, including longtime 'Jeopardy' host Alex Trebek (Canada for 200, Ken!) and theoretical physicist Albert Einstein (Germany). Not all immigrated intentionally. Phillis Wheatley, who in 1773 became the first African American woman to publish a book of poems, was kidnapped as a young child from West Africa and sold into slavery in Boston. She was still enslaved when her book was published. Rs and Ds, famous and not-so-famous The garden's organizing structure is yet to be determined, so we gave it a shot, slotting each person into a group based on what they were best known for to see what patterns emerged. Plenty of people would fit into more than one of these categories. Artists, architects and literary figures 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 John James Audubon John James Audubon Harper Lee Harper Lee Booker T. Washington Booker T. Washington The list leans ideologically conservative, but not overwhelmingly so. Thought leaders such as author Russell Kirk ('The Conservative Mind') and William F. Buckley (longtime host of the public affairs talk show 'Firing Line') are included, along with conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. But so is Scalia's liberal 'best buddy' (her words), Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Thurgood Marshall, the first African American on the court. The 17 presidents on the list are split fairly evenly, party-wise: eight Republicans, five Democrats, two Democratic-Republicans (the precursor to the Democrats), a Federalist (John Adams) and George Washington, the only president who had no party affiliation. Presidents 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan George Washington George Washington Civil rights activists Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King are among four married couples, along with actors Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Two first ladies made it in addition to their husbands: Dolley Madison, who largely defined the role, and Eleanor Roosevelt, who turned it into a platform for advocacy. Activists 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 Medgar Evers Medgar Evers Sojourner Truth Sojourner Truth Some names are less well known than their actions, such as the Black women mathematicians known as 'human computers' at NASA who calculated orbital trajectories during the space race in the 1960s. Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan were portrayed in the 2016 movie 'Hidden Figures.' At least a dozen are remembered mostly for one heroic act. One is Todd Beamer, who was heard over an Airfone saying a final 'Let's roll' before apparently leading fellow passengers to storm the cockpit of the hijacked Flight 93 before it could reach its D.C. target on Sept. 11, 2001. The 'Four Chaplains' shepherded terrified young soldiers toward the lifeboats on a sinking Army transport ship in 1943, then handed out life vests — including their own. Survivors saw Alexander D. Goode, John P. Washington, Clark V. Poling and George L. Fox praying hand-in-hand on the deck as the SS Dorchester went down. Explore each category Select a category... 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 A lot of White men, and a lot of firsts A couple dozen people on the list achieved some kind of breakthrough for a person of their race, gender or — in the case of Neil Armstrong — species. Armstrong, the first human to walk on the moon, is one of the garden's five astronauts, along with teacher Christa McAuliffe, who died when the space shuttle Challenger exploded. Breakdown by race or ethnicity and gender Breakdown by race or ethnicity and gender Male Female White 155 35 Sally Ride Neil Armstrong Black 19 15 Thurgood Marshall Native American 3 7 Maria Tallchief Hispanic 7 Asian 2 Note: At least one person's ancestry is debated. Breakdown by race or ethnicity and gender Male Female Native White Hispanic Black Asian American 155 7 19 2 7 Thurgood Marshall Neil Armstrong 35 15 3 Maria Tallchief Sally Ride Note: At least one person's ancestry is debated. Montana's Jeannette Rankin was the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress, and it happened in 1916, about four years before women were guaranteed the right to vote. Maria Mitchell was the first American scientist to discover a comet. Civil War flag-bearer Joseph De Castro was the first Hispanic American to receive the Medal of Honor, the military's highest award for valor in combat. Maria Tallchief was the first Native American prima ballerina. Barbara Jordan of Texas, whose powerful speech to the House Judiciary Committee in July 1974 helped turn the country against Richard M. Nixon, was the first African American woman in the 20th century to be elected to Congress from the South. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement Five Catholic saints are on the list, including Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American-born person to be canonized, in 1975. However, there is not a single female athlete, unless you count sharpshooter Annie Oakley. Regardless of who makes the final cut, federal statues typically take years to commission, design, cast and install. The park's opening was originally planned for July 4, 2026, the nation's 250th birthday, but a White House spokesperson said the new goal is sometime before the end of Trump's presidency in January 2029. As of now, no site has been chosen. However, South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden (R) is promoting a mining company's offer of land near Mount Rushmore, a plan that local Indigenous groups oppose. If the White House accepts the offer, maybe the four presidents depicted there can come off the garden's to-do list. Only 246 to go. Illustrations by Lucy Naland/The Washington Post; Library of Congress; Mark J. Terrill/AP; iStock; Reed Saxon/AP; iStock; NASA/Bob Nye; NASA; iStock
Washington Post
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Trump's honest graft
When Donald Trump finally gets around to erecting his proposed $34 million National Garden of American Heroes, he should reserve a tall plinth for a bronze likeness of George Washington Plunkitt. The National Garden, which is expected to feature about 250 statues of notable Americans such as Albert Einstein, Lauren Bacall, Sitting Bull, Douglas MacArthur, Fulton J. Sheen, Frank Sinatra, Margaret Chase Smith and Ida B. Wells, has a purpose. As Trump put it, it will 'defend the legacy of America's founding, the virtue of America's heroes and the nobility of the American character.'
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
2026 expected to be yearlong celebration as America turns 250 years old
This year's Northern Colorado Fourth of July celebrations have just wrapped up, but next year those celebrations, including fireworks displays, could burn brighter as America celebrates its 250th birthday in 2026. The nation's bicentennial in 1976 was a year in which Americans celebrated in earnest, not just over the Fourth of July holiday. President Donald Trump has said Americans can expect much of the same the entire year in 2026, predicting the celebration under his watch will reach "extraordinary" levels. Trump is scheduled to visit Iowa this month to kick off the celebration of America's 250th birthday. America will celebrate its semiquincentennial throughout 2026, culminating on Independence Day. The U.S. Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence 249 years ago, on July 4, 1776. In January, Trump signed an executive order that created Task Force 250. As outlined by the order and headed by Trump, Task Force 250 is responsible for planning and executing "an extraordinary celebration of the 250th anniversary of American independence" on July 4, 2026. The task force is also responsible for the creation of the National Garden of American Heroes, a sculpture garden first proposed by the president in 2020 that is scheduled to open in July 2026. The United States Semiquincentennial, also known as America250, is a nonprofit dedicated to the celebration of the 250th anniversary across the country. The America250 site lists more than a dozen corporate partners, including Amazon, Coke and Walmart, and has information on events scheduled so far at states throughout the country. Gannett News Service contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: America turns 250 years old in 2026. Yearlong celebrations expected
