Fox News host Brian Kilmeade brushed aside the idea of adding President Donald Trump’s likeness to Mount Rushmore on Friday, joking that the iconic monument has no room left as lawmakers continue pushing legislation that would place the president alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
The comments came during Fox & Friends as the hosts discussed Trump’s packed Independence Day schedule, which includes a visit to Mount Rushmore before returning to Washington, D.C., for the nation’s America 250 celebration.
“Busy July Fourth weekend for our president,” Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt said. “President Trump is going to head to Mount Rushmore today to deliver a speech and to take in the fireworks show before heading back to D.C. for the big America 250 celebration on the National Mall tomorrow.”
Reporting from the White House, Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy described preparations already underway for the celebrations in the nation’s capital.
“The barges carrying all the fireworks were being floated into position, and dump trucks are being turned to block traffic on the roads to the National Mall where the firework viewing area is as President Trump teases remarks that he says will be meant as an endurance test,” Doocy said.
The segment then played footage of Trump discussing his upcoming Independence Day speech during remarks earlier in the week.
“This week we look back on 250 years of glorious freedom. And we took so much time and so much effort,” Trump said. “And, by the way, on July fourth, it’s going to be approximately 107 degrees out. And I’m going to go and I’m going to make a really long speech. Just to show that I can do anything.”
Doocy then shifted the conversation to Trump’s scheduled trip to South Dakota aboard the new Air Force One, where the president is expected to deliver remarks and watch a fireworks display at Mount Rushmore.
“And as Griff Jenkins was just talking about, the president’s big event today is going to be taking the new Air Force One out to South Dakota for remarks and fireworks at Mount Rushmore,” Doocy said.
He also noted that legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives that would direct officials to add Trump’s image to the famous national memorial.
“There is a bill kicking around in the House of Representatives introduced by some of the president’s pals over there to put his face on Mount Rushmore,” Doocy said. “But, in looking this up this morning, a quick Google showed me that there are both political and gee logical concerns with that.”
The proposal, H.R. 792, was introduced by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla. The legislation would direct the Secretary of the Interior “to arrange for the carving of the figure of President Donald J. Trump on Mount Rushmore National Memorial.”
Despite the proposal from one of Trump’s congressional allies, Kilmeade made clear he was not on board with expanding the monument.
“Yeah, we ran out of mountain. We can only fit those heads,” Kilmeade joked during Friday’s broadcast. “And we’re out of chisels. So, let’s just keep the guys we’ve got!”
The exchange came as Trump prepared to spend Independence Day at one of America’s most recognizable landmarks before returning to the nation’s capital for festivities marking the country’s 250th anniversary.
