The Washington Post reports that the Presidential Challenge Coin, a token that American presidents have given to service men, laid on veterans’ graves in Arlington and handed out as a honorary token of appreciation has been given a Trump makeover. And it’s exactly what you would imagine from an insecure narcissist who wants to be the king of the world.
The presidential seal has been replaced by an eagle bearing President Trump’s signature. The eagle’s head faces right, not left, as on the seal. The 13 arrows representing the original states have disappeared. And the national motto, “E pluribus unum” — a Latin phrase that means “Out of many, one” — is gone.
Instead, both sides of the coin feature Trump’s official campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
You can go see it over at the Post. I won’t be putting images of it here. Trump has gotten rid of the understated silver and copper in order to make it gold. This isn’t simply a matter of taste—we all know that Trump is to taste as a two-year-old is to toothbrushing, antagonistic—it’s a matter of ethics.
The White House offered conflicting accounts of which funds were used to purchase the coins, with one aide saying they were paid for by the White House and a second aide later saying that the Republican National Committee is covering the expense. An RNC spokeswoman confirmed Friday afternoon that the party is paying for the coins. [...]
“For the commander in chief to give a political token with a campaign slogan on it to military officers would violate the important principle of separating the military from politics, as well as diminishing the tradition of the coin,” said Trevor Potter, a Republican former chairman of the Federal Election Commission.
Donald Trump has the bizarro world’s Midas touch: everything he touches turns to soot.