The U.S. Mint is moving ahead with plans to produce a coin with President Donald Trump’s image on it. This new frontier in Trump worship smacks of dictatorship and runs counter to the intentions of America’s founders, who opposed such actions for their affiliation with monarchy.
The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, which is composed of members handpicked by Trump, passed a motion on Thursday calling for the creation of a 24-karat commemorative gold coin featuring Trump. James McCrery II, who was the first architect for Trump’s boondoggle of a White House ballroom, serves as vice chair of the committee and said the Mint should make the coin “as large as possible
The design approved by the U.S. Mint. The final product will be 24-karat gold.
The Mint said Trump personally reviewed and approved the project.
“As we approach our 250th birthday, we are thrilled to prepare coins that represent the enduring spirit of our country and democracy, and there is no profile more emblematic for the front of such coins than that of our serving President, Donald J. Trump,” U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach told Fox Business.
Trump is a bigoted racist and the only president in American history to be convicted of multiple felonies. He has been impeached twice, and one of those impeachments occurred after he inspired a violent attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Federal law currently prohibits using Trump’s image on currency. According to 31 U.S. Code § 5114, “Only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency and securities.”
But the ever-shifty Trump administration has cited separate statutory authority which they claim allows them to put a sitting president’s image on gold coins.
Since coming back into office, Trump has doubled down on actions that have historically been associated with dictatorships and not a constitutional democracy like the United States.
Large banners with images of Trump have been installed at multiple government buildings in Washington. The wannabe dictator slapped his name on the Kennedy Center before deciding to shutter it for reconstruction, and added his moniker to the U.S. Institute of Peace.
Trump has redecorated the White House, especially the Oval Office, to include garish gold trim and other trashy touches seen at his tacky properties like Mar-a-Lago. Construction is currently underway on a ginormous White House ballroom, which involved demolishing a large portion of America’s most iconic building.
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After gaining independence in 1776, America’s founders made a conscious decision not to put images of people on currency because the practice was associated with monarchy during that era.
America had just fought a bloody Revolutionary War against the British Empire. The first American dollar coin featured the image of Lady Liberty, a fictional figure.
U.S. currency didn’t feature real people until the 1900s and the figures depicted were legendary and long dead, like Presidents Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.
Trump’s obsession with acting like a king is a trait that’s reviled by many Americans. Since he came back into office, millions have marched across the country in “No Kings” protests, with another wave of protests scheduled for March 28.
Putting Trump’s mug on a coin will only stoke the anti-monarchy, anti-Trump movement. But all that matters to MAGA is stroking his ego, Founding Fathers be damned.
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