July 4, 2020

Near the end of Donald Trump's polarizing, history-steeped speech at Mount Rushmore on Friday, the president announced he would sign an executive order establishing a "national garden of American heroes" where statues of "historically significant Americans" would be built or rebuilt.

In a moment of dueling national tensions over systemic racism and a deadly pandemic — and with a presidential election looming in November — Trump's surprise executive order raises two questions: Will it actually ever happen? And if so, which American figures would then make the cut?

The executive order comes amid a national debate over the removal of Confederate monuments following civil unrest sparked by the Minneapolis police killing of a Black man, George Floyd. After protests across the country against police brutality and institutionalized racism saw the toppling of federal monuments become widespread, Trump last week ordered the Justice Department to prioritize prosecution of protesters who vandalize them.

Read more:

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/04/trump-garden-of-american-heroes-348761