Utopia Talk - Politics - New $250 bill better than the meme coin?

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Utopia Talk / Politics / New $250 bill better than the meme coin?

Average Ameriacn
Member Mon Mar 24 14:17:02
Should I sell my Trump meme coins now???

http://www...fice-republican-bills-00244107

An airport, Mount Rushmore and the $100 bill: Inside the GOP effort to venerate Trump while he’s still in office

House Republicans say they’re honoring the sitting president with their unprecedented bills. Historians see something darker.

03/22/2025 10:00 AM EDT

Benjamin Franklin might have made scientific breakthroughs, invented a stove and helped to found the United States, but did he ever usher in a “golden age” for the nation? In the view of Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas, that’s precisely why Donald Trump — not the Founding Father — deserves to grace the $100 bill.

Gill’s Golden Age Act of 2025 is just one of five Trump-adulating House bills introduced in the two months since the president began his second term. Other measures would make Trump’s birthday a federal holiday, rename Dulles Airport in Trump’s honor, carve Trump’s face on Mount Rushmore and create a new $250 bill with Trump’s likeness.

The multi-front effort to memorialize a president who is still alive, let alone still living in the White House, has no precedent in congressional history. While none of the bills are expected to become law, it underscores the lengths that some House Republicans are willing to go to curry favor with Trump.

“What we’ve got to do is show that Congress has the president’s back, that we believe in his mission,” Gill said. “We believe in getting America into the Golden Age, and I think that this bill that I put forward is a good way to show support for that.”

Some scholars of American history, however, view these bills through a darker lens. Princeton University Professor Sean Wilentz called it an effort “to transform a sitting president into a kind of deified figure” — something, he said, George Washington himself feared.

“This is exactly what the American Revolution was fought to prevent,” said Wilentz, author of “The Rise of American Democracy.”

But to some lawmakers, Trump is a figure worth deifying — secularly, that is.

“He took a bullet for us,” said Rep. Addison McDowell, the North Carolina freshman seeking to rename Dulles. “They tried to throw him in prison. He’s somebody that doesn’t quit, doesn’t give up, and he’s going to save the country.”

McDowell added that there’s a somewhat less lofty reason for the honor: Dulles, he acknowledged, does not currently provide the most pleasant traveling experience. “Who better to fix something like that,” he said, ”than Donald Trump?”

Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina had a slightly more complex argument for his $250 bill proposal: as a demonstration of Wilson’s “appreciation of Trump’s service” and also “to bring attention to the 250th anniversary of the United States,” coming up next year.

“I’m working very closely with different organizations to promote 250th anniversary events, and so it all came together,” he said.

But why put Trump on the face of the new bill — putting him in the company of Washington, Franklin and Abraham Lincoln? Wilson said he appreciated both what Trump “has done to secure the border” as well as “his efforts to reduce taxes to create jobs.”

There’s no hard-and-fast rule against honoring sitting presidents. Barack Obama, for instance, saw several schools and roads named in his honor while he was still in office, and a street in Hialeah, Florida, was renamed in Trump’s honor in December. That was the work of local governments, however, not Congress.

It’s not unprecedented for federal lawmakers to honor a living former president. The GOP-controlled Congress moved in 1998 to name what had long been known as Washington National Airport after Ronald Reagan. It was one of several efforts around that time to honor the 40th president — not long after he had announced an Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis and retreated from public life.

Former Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) led a push to put Reagan on Mount Rushmore in the late 1990s, and made sure to note in an interview that Reagan “wasn’t in office at the time.”

“Trump obviously is, and I don’t think it’s really appropriate to do it while a president is still in office,” he said, noting that Trump himself would have to sign the bill making the honor official.

Rutgers University historian David Greenberg said there have been “huge cults of personality” around presidents such as Washington, Lincoln and Reagan. “But even allowing for that on its own terms, it’s pretty crazy,” he said of the spate of Trump-themed legislation. “So far as I know, we don’t or we almost never do this kind of thing for living presidents, especially sitting presidents.”

Typically, there is a period of historical reflection on a president’s legacy after he leaves office, added Greenberg, author of a book on how Richard Nixon is remembered in American history.

“It’s one thing to say, in the fullness of time, ‘You know what? So-and-so was a great president and should be on currency or a coin or something,’” he said. “This just seems like it’s part of a political racket … designed to kind of celebrate the power [of Republicans] and sort of revel in it and send the message to Trump’s critics and opponents that they are relatively powerless in this moment.”

“I wasn’t nuts about the cult of Reagan, but at least he won in two landslides,” he added. “With Trump, it just seems sort of perverse.”

Trump, for what it’s worth, has not endorsed any of the congressional commemoration efforts, and the members involved insist he had no part in initiating them.

“President Trump isn’t calling members of Congress and saying, ‘Hey, would you go out there and flatter me today by coming up with legislation?’ He doesn’t do that,” said Rep. Troy Nehls, one of Trump’s most ardent supporters on Capitol Hill and a co-sponsor of Gill’s bill. “This is just members taking initiative to show some love and respect to the greatest president in our lifetimes.”

Some of the bills honoring Trump present practical difficulties. The National Park Service has said there is no suitable rock left to carve on Mount Rushmore, and putting Trump’s image on money would require repealing an 1866 law prohibiting the printing of a living person’s image on American currency.

Gill insisted that, just two months in, it’s worth changing the law to honor Trump on the hundo. “He’s done more in 40 days than most presidents do in four years or eight years,” he said. “So I think we ought to give him credit for that.”

murder
Member Mon Mar 24 14:56:47

It's not a cult! Stop saying that!

Rugian
Member Mon Mar 24 16:07:41
The shame of it is that there's a good idea if you remove the BS. US currency has been in need of a new reordering for decades now, we should get rid of the penny and nickel and introduce a larger-sized denomination above $100.

show deleted posts

Average Ameriacn Member	Mon Mar 24 14:17:02 Should I sell my Trump meme coins now??? http://www...fice-republican-bills-00244107 An airport, Mount Rushmore and the $100 bill: Inside the GOP effort to venerate Trump while he’s still in office House Republicans say they’re honoring the sitting president with their unprecedented bills. Historians see something darker. 03/22/2025 10:00 AM EDT Benjamin Franklin might have made scientific breakthroughs, invented a stove and helped to found the United States, but did he ever usher in a “golden age” for the nation? In the view of Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas, that’s precisely why Donald Trump — not the Founding Father — deserves to grace the $100 bill. Gill’s Golden Age Act of 2025 is just one of five Trump-adulating House bills introduced in the two months since the president began his second term. Other measures would make Trump’s birthday a federal holiday, rename Dulles Airport in Trump’s honor, carve Trump’s face on Mount Rushmore and create a new $250 bill with Trump’s likeness. The multi-front effort to memorialize a president who is still alive, let alone still living in the White House, has no precedent in congressional history. While none of the bills are expected to become law, it underscores the lengths that some House Republicans are willing to go to curry favor with Trump. “What we’ve got to do is show that Congress has the president’s back, that we believe in his mission,” Gill said. “We believe in getting America into the Golden Age, and I think that this bill that I put forward is a good way to show support for that.” Some scholars of American history, however, view these bills through a darker lens. Princeton University Professor Sean Wilentz called it an effort “to transform a sitting president into a kind of deified figure” — something, he said, George Washington himself feared. “This is exactly what the American Revolution was fought to prevent,” said Wilentz, author of “The Rise of American Democracy.” But to some lawmakers, Trump is a figure worth deifying — secularly, that is. “He took a bullet for us,” said Rep. Addison McDowell, the North Carolina freshman seeking to rename Dulles. “They tried to throw him in prison. He’s somebody that doesn’t quit, doesn’t give up, and he’s going to save the country.” McDowell added that there’s a somewhat less lofty reason for the honor: Dulles, he acknowledged, does not currently provide the most pleasant traveling experience. “Who better to fix something like that,” he said, ”than Donald Trump?” Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina had a slightly more complex argument for his $250 bill proposal: as a demonstration of Wilson’s “appreciation of Trump’s service” and also “to bring attention to the 250th anniversary of the United States,” coming up next year. “I’m working very closely with different organizations to promote 250th anniversary events, and so it all came together,” he said. But why put Trump on the face of the new bill — putting him in the company of Washington, Franklin and Abraham Lincoln? Wilson said he appreciated both what Trump “has done to secure the border” as well as “his efforts to reduce taxes to create jobs.” There’s no hard-and-fast rule against honoring sitting presidents. Barack Obama, for instance, saw several schools and roads named in his honor while he was still in office, and a street in Hialeah, Florida, was renamed in Trump’s honor in December. That was the work of local governments, however, not Congress. It’s not unprecedented for federal lawmakers to honor a living former president. The GOP-controlled Congress moved in 1998 to name what had long been known as Washington National Airport after Ronald Reagan. It was one of several efforts around that time to honor the 40th president — not long after he had announced an Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis and retreated from public life. Former Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) led a push to put Reagan on Mount Rushmore in the late 1990s, and made sure to note in an interview that Reagan “wasn’t in office at the time.” “Trump obviously is, and I don’t think it’s really appropriate to do it while a president is still in office,” he said, noting that Trump himself would have to sign the bill making the honor official. Rutgers University historian David Greenberg said there have been “huge cults of personality” around presidents such as Washington, Lincoln and Reagan. “But even allowing for that on its own terms, it’s pretty crazy,” he said of the spate of Trump-themed legislation. “So far as I know, we don’t or we almost never do this kind of thing for living presidents, especially sitting presidents.” Typically, there is a period of historical reflection on a president’s legacy after he leaves office, added Greenberg, author of a book on how Richard Nixon is remembered in American history. “It’s one thing to say, in the fullness of time, ‘You know what? So-and-so was a great president and should be on currency or a coin or something,’” he said. “This just seems like it’s part of a political racket … designed to kind of celebrate the power [of Republicans] and sort of revel in it and send the message to Trump’s critics and opponents that they are relatively powerless in this moment.” “I wasn’t nuts about the cult of Reagan, but at least he won in two landslides,” he added. “With Trump, it just seems sort of perverse.” Trump, for what it’s worth, has not endorsed any of the congressional commemoration efforts, and the members involved insist he had no part in initiating them. “President Trump isn’t calling members of Congress and saying, ‘Hey, would you go out there and flatter me today by coming up with legislation?’ He doesn’t do that,” said Rep. Troy Nehls, one of Trump’s most ardent supporters on Capitol Hill and a co-sponsor of Gill’s bill. “This is just members taking initiative to show some love and respect to the greatest president in our lifetimes.” Some of the bills honoring Trump present practical difficulties. The National Park Service has said there is no suitable rock left to carve on Mount Rushmore, and putting Trump’s image on money would require repealing an 1866 law prohibiting the printing of a living person’s image on American currency. Gill insisted that, just two months in, it’s worth changing the law to honor Trump on the hundo. “He’s done more in 40 days than most presidents do in four years or eight years,” he said. “So I think we ought to give him credit for that.”
murder Member	Mon Mar 24 14:56:47 It's not a cult! Stop saying that!
Rugian Member	Mon Mar 24 16:07:41 The shame of it is that there's a good idea if you remove the BS. US currency has been in need of a new reordering for decades now, we should get rid of the penny and nickel and introduce a larger-sized denomination above $100.
	show deleted posts

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