People Clown Randomness and Size of Trump’s List of Statues for Proposed ‘Heroes’ Garden
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On Monday, Donald Trump issued an amended executive order that added over 200 names to his proposed "National Garden of American Heroes," Variety reports. Among the extensive list of people he wants honored in the statuary park—which still does not have a confirmed location and likely will never happen—are Walt Disney, Muhammad Ali, Whitney Houston, Billie Holiday, Johnny Cash, and the late Alex Trebek.
NEW: Trump signs a new executive order with a long list of names for his "National Garden of American Heroes."
"Each individual has been chosen for embodying the American spirit of daring and defiance, excellence and adventure, courage and confidence, loyalty and love." pic.twitter.com/dcVeK1MYxR— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) January 18, 2021
According to Trump, the park's goal is to honor those believed to be "historically significant," and "individual[s] who made substantive contributions to America's public life or otherwise had a substantive effect on America's history." That last bit might explain why the list has a few people on it who aren't American, including Ingrid Bergman, Albert Einstein, and Trebek, who was Canadian. Other proposed names include Kobe Bryant, Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart, Ray Charles, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatara, Aretha Franklin, Bob Hope, and Elvis Presley.
ofAlong with featuring many figures from the world of music and film, the list also includes the likes of Ronald Reagan, Norman Rockwell, Harriet Tubman, Babe Ruth, and Theodore Rooosevelt. "These statues are not ours alone, to be discarded at the whim of those inflamed by fashionable political passions; they belong to generations that have come before us and to generations yet unborn," Trump said in the initial executive order, which was issued in July last year.
But, like all things in Trumpland, his desire for a monument garden is likely tied to satisfying his own ego more than anything else. That's probably why people were quick to pounce on both the size and randomness of Trump's list. If people thought this executive order came from a genuine place, perhaps they would have been more forgiving. Alas, here we are.
Check out reactions to Trump's list of proposed statues below.
At once obvious and weirdly random, if wide-ranging, and I'm pretty sure Trump has no idea who half (or more) of these people are, let alone how many of them would have hated all he stands for. https://t.co/w3gI5UlI5c
— Robert Lloyd (@LATimesTVLloyd) January 18, 202
how fucking big is this garden or are are we talking like gnome size statues https://t.co/B3LtIrXQff
— PAPPADEMAS (@PAPPADEMAS) January 18, 2021
Hannah Arendt.
No, seriously; *Donald Trump* has executive-ordered the construction of a federal statue of Hannah Arendt.https://t.co/T845wWE56E— Jacob T. Levy (@jtlevy) January 18, 2021
Reading about Trump’s proposed “Garden of American Heroes” 2 days before he leaves, I’m gonna post this one more time. pic.twitter.com/mum7bZngHc
— Charles #GetCovered-ba (@charles_gaba) January 18, 2021
“Do you love the Trump National Garden of American Heroes?” pic.twitter.com/poXFG3efk5
— Stephen Carroll (@StephenTweeted) January 18, 2021
Did he ... did he draw names at random out of a hat? pic.twitter.com/DLzXVt40PR
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 18, 2021
Looking forward to the quality craftsmanship that will surely be employed in the Trump Sculpture Garden pic.twitter.com/doo6FlAYyj
— Rob Sheridan (@rob_sheridan) January 18, 2021
As a professional maker of lists, I humbly request a process story about how this came to be what it is. https://t.co/EQSAtBwwxY
— Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) January 18, 2021
Is there any language here specifying that the statue of Hannah Arendt could not be kicking the statue of Henry Ford in the groin https://t.co/a3cpkSELUV
— James Poniewozik (@poniewozik) January 18, 2021
Seems Trump has a Madame Tussauds approach to history: https://t.co/JnPV4FfUrn
— Jane Mayer (@JaneMayerNYer) January 18, 2021
This is... not going to happen, right? https://t.co/FcchR9rar6
— Dan Savage (@fakedansavage) January 18, 2021
I'll bet you Trump can't identify 1/10th of the names in that Executive Order. https://t.co/b49Q6DOxKS
— Katie Phang (@KatiePhang) January 18, 2021
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