Trump monuments should remain after he leaves office

At the end of President Donald Trump’s second term, assuming America makes it that far, I want his name, his image, and his every act of tone-deaf, unchecked narcissism to remain intact.

Trump orders reflecting pool painted American flag blue

President Trump ordered the reflecting pool outside the Lincoln Memorial to be painted “American flag blue” after calling the location “disgusting.”

Inflation is at a three-year high, the cost of living has risen, and we are stuck in a war with Iran. But don’t worry. President Donald Trump is painting the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool blue.

Let’s hope this new $13 million pool project doesn’t distract him from his White House ballroom project, which now tops $1 billion. Or his $100 million Arc de Triomphe project. Or putting his face on American currency and passports. And his name on buildings and airports.

This sounds like sarcasm, but I’ve taken a view that might be controversial: Let Trump build his vanity projects. Let his Republican smoochers carve “President Donald J. Trump” into marble facades and affix that moniker to whatever building, coin or government document they see fit.

That his failed presidency remains a stain that generations can laugh at.

Let Trump paint the Reflecting Pool and build monuments to himself

You’re probably waiting for me to write something like: “And then, when the future king is gone, we can tear up the name, burn the documents, and sandblast Donald J. Trump from every stone surface!”

But that’s not what I want. No way.

At the end of Trump’s second term, assuming America makes it that far, I want his name, his image, and his every act of tone-deaf, unchecked narcissism to remain intact. I want the reflecting pool to remain a bright, garish blue, like a pool at Mar-a-Lago on the National Mall.

I want his absurd ballroom to stand like an unsightly wart on the White House grounds. I want the Arc de Triomphe, built when there was no triumph in sight, to stand as an extremely heinous reminder of the stupid, selfish man that Americans – about 77 million of them when Trump won his second term – willingly invited into the People’s House.

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The Trump era is not an era Americans should forget

Erasing this period of American history would be too easy. It would keep too many people safe from a decision that, as I write this, is putting farmers out of business, putting U.S. troops at risk and depleting our military resources, driving up energy prices and pushing income inequality to a 30-year high.

Trump rose to political power through cruelty, dishonesty and division. He has legitimized bullying, eroded America’s standing on the world stage, and sowed doubt about the very foundations of our democracy. He plotted a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol and then, defying logic, came back four years later and duped a majority of Americans into giving him another term, promising a golden age of low prices and a vengeful end to an immigrant crime wave he had concocted.

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Our country is now reaping what MAGA voters and a political media system determined to normalize Trump have sown, and I’ll be damned if I want any of them — or anyone, for that matter — to forget this historically colossal decision.

They put a self-aggrandizing crook with no respect for humanity in the most powerful position in the world. They should stay with this for decades.

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One day tourists will discover and laugh at Trump’s arrogance

So let Trump erect, print and distribute these undeserved honors. And continue to let Republicans watch what happens.

In a few years, when a tour bus passes under the Arc de Triomphe, I would like the guide to explain which president decided it would be a good idea and how much taxpayer money was spent to build it when a significant portion of the population struggled to afford ground beef.

Every day, people visit Washington, DC, see the Lincoln Memorial and learn what an important leader the country had in Abraham Lincoln. They visit the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and understand how the civil rights icon made the world a better place. They see the names etched on the walls of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and recognize those who have made true sacrifices for this country.

I want future visitors to also see the extraordinary giant ballroom attached to the White House like an ornate Costco and learn about a president who made no sacrifices for this country, but who spent his money generously as the cost of living skyrocketed.

Keep Trump’s name on the now-closed Kennedy Center

I want them to see the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts and learn that a living president came in and had the nerve to put his name before that of a beloved former president who was assassinated. They’ll learn how Trump decided to close the center for two years for “renovations,” and how that was really meant to cover up the embarrassment of artists canceling their performances once Trump’s name was on the building.

They will see the “American flag blue” reflecting pool and learn how Trump has been brutally and rightly mocked for his bizarre attention to aesthetics, gold light fixtures and gold statues of himself.

This is as it should be. The desire to demolish and erase all traces of Trump will soon be palpable. I understand. I will feel it too.

But that would be a bad decision.

I want Trump voters to be reminded daily of the mistake they made

The fact that this unhinged snake oil salesman was elected President of the United States twice is not something any American should ever forget. Trump arrived, and the consequences on our democracy, on our national unity and on our image in the world were incalculable.

Once we get past the cruelty and incompetence, nothing could better remind us of this American mistake than a cheesy, bright blue reflecting pool in our nation’s capital. Or groups of tourists who erupt into boos when Trump’s name is mentioned. Or important buildings that have the same cringe-inducing name. Constant reminders of how easily the masses can be deceived and how dangerous it would be to let it happen again.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @rexhuppke.bsky.social and on Facebook at facebook.com/RexIsAJerk.

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