Trump denies suggesting his head should be added to Mount Rushmore, then immediately suggests it

We already know Donald Trump has a pretty large ego.

He’s not exactly shy about it.

Which is why a throwaway line about the scale of the president’s ambitions in a New York Times article perhaps seemed to ring true.

In a story exploring rumours about whether Trump will retain Mike Pence as his running mate in the run up to the 2020 presidential election, it’s mentioned that the White House supposedly enquired about adding Trump's face to Mount Rushmore – the national monument that bears the likeness of four of the most famous US presidents.

According to the NYT, Trump told Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota – where Mount Rushmore is located – that he “aspired” to become the fifth president honoured there, alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

And according to the article, “last year” a White House aide contacted the South Dakota governor’s office to ask what the “official process” of adding a president to the monument is.

Basically: it seemed as though Trump’s staff are under the impression they need to get him on that mountain.

Trump, however, is flatly denying the reports – although he says he’s definitely not against the idea.

He called it “fake news” and said he’d “never suggested” the idea, but added:

Although, based on all of the many things accomplished during the first 3 1/2 years, perhaps more than any other Presidency, sounds like a good idea to me!

The president then proceeded to tweet a photoshopped snap of himself standing alongside the other heads on Mount Rushmore.

As another NYT reporter pointed out, Trump’s assertion that he never suggested being added to the monument is directly followed by him suggesting it.

They also add that Noem is on record in 2018 recounting the request.

Given that the Mount Rushmore presidents were selected by artist Gutzon Borglum because they “represented the most important events” in US history, maybe Trump could get on there.

After all, overseeing a pandemic response that saw one American die every 80 seconds from coronavirus over the last week is pretty monumental.

Just for all the wrong reasons.