Trump calls for US 'heroes' statues garden

US President Donald Trump has a vision for his second term, if he wins one, of establishing a “National Garden of American Heroes” that will pay tribute to some of the most prominent figures in US history, a collection of “the greatest Americans to ever live”.

His idea, conveyed in a speech on Friday night at Mount Rushmore and expanded on in an executive order, comes as elected officials and institutions are reckoning with whether it is appropriate to continue to honour people, including past presidents, who benefited from slavery or espoused racist views, with monuments or buildings and streets named after them.

The White House and Interior Department have declined to comment on how the initial list was assembled.

To be certain, the monument is far from a done deal and Trump’s plan could be dashed if presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden denies him a second term in November.

President Donald Trump smiles at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2020, near Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Credit: Alex Brandon/AP

It includes George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr, all already represented on or near the National Mall in Washington DC.

It also features Susan B. Anthony, Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Frederick Douglass, Amelia Earhart, Billy Graham, Douglas MacArthur, Christa McAuliffe, Jackie Robinson, Betsy Ross, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington and Orville and Wilbur Wright.

The group of 30-plus features Founding Fathers and presidents, civil rights pioneers and aviation innovators, explorers and generals.

Trump in recent weeks has repeatedly condemned the desecration and toppling of historic statues by demonstrators during protests over racial injustice and police brutality following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

His executive order says the garden should open before July 4, 2024, and he leaves it up to a federal task force to make recommendations about the use of federal money and a proposed site.

The order specifies “a site of natural beauty” that is near at least one major population centre.

The order says priority should be given to monuments to former presidents, to individuals and events relating to the discovery of America, the founding of the United States, and the abolition of slavery.

“None will have lived perfect lives, but all will be worth honouring, remembering, and studying,” according to the order.

The order includes language to make clear that non-US citizens who played significant roles in American history also could be honoured in the garden.