Trump on Mount Rushmore? April Fools story tricks readers

Daily Mail's story claiming that Mount Rushmore is having a controversial fifth face added in the form of Donald Trump led many people to believe it was really happening. 

However, the article ended with a clear note revealing it was an April Fools' joke. The prank still created significant buzz online, with users sharing their own AI-generated versions of Trump's face on Mount Rushmore.

Meanwhile, ahead of President Donald Trump's expected visit to Mount Rushmore National Memorial this summer, his supporters have renewed calls for his figure to be carved into the monument.

Trump has long voiced a desire to join four US presidents on Mount Rushmore, and he is expected to visit it this summer for America’s 250th anniversary fireworks on July 3-4.

The 60-foot granite faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln have stood untouched since 1941.

Trump supporters, including some Republican lawmakers, argue a fifth face should honor the current Republican president. 

Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna introduced H.R. 792 in January 2025 directing the Interior Department to carve Trump’s likeness. The bill remains before the House Natural Resources Committee and has not advanced.

Opponents, including historians and geologists  strongly resist any change. 

According to experts, Trump cannot simply order the carving because Mount Rushmore is a protected National Park Service memorial. 

Any alteration would require congressional approval, historic-preservation reviews and environmental studies.

The experts say it is physically impossible because the mountain’s granite is riddled with fractures. Lead sculptor Gutzon Borglum warned in the 1930s there was no suitable rock left. 

Engineers have repeatedly said that removing material for a new face risks destabilizing the existing sculptures.