In 2019, Trump White House aides reached out to South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and asked about the process of adding additional presidents to Mount Rushmore, a Republican official familiar with the conversation told the New York Times.
According to a person familiar who spoke with the Times, Noem then greeted Trump when he arrived in the state for his July Fourth celebrations at the monument with a four-foot replica of Mount Rushmore that included his face.
Gov. Noem has noted before Trump’s “dream” to have his face on Mount Rushmore. According to a 2018 interview with Noem, the two struck up a conversation about the sculpture in the Oval Office during their first meeting, where she initially thought he was joking. “I started laughing,” she