We treated it like a joke, another grandiose plan promoted by Donald Trump that would go nowhere. But it turns out he was serious when he stood at Mount Rushmore in July 2020 to fervently propose “a vast outdoor park that will feature the statues of the greatest Americans to ever live.” Since then, we’ve had our fun imagining the occupants of Trump’s sculpture garden: How about tough-guy lawyer Roy Cohn, well-endowed golfer Arnold Palmer, Hannibal Lecter—maybe even Robert E. Lee, although there’s a law now against building anything new to honor a confederate. But then Trump is flouting norms and laws left, right and center so good night and good luck. (There is also an unwritten rule that statues commemorate the dead, not the living, though Trump will surely find a way to be in the company of those he envisions in his sculpture garden.) The time for joking is over. Trump’s National Garden of American Heroes—which he has vowed will “teach our children to know that they live in a land of legends”—is on its way to becoming a reality when we celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday in July 2026. Members of the National Endowment for the Humanities were reportedly aghast when told that Trump had ordered a portion of the agency’s grant money re-directed to fund the sculpture project “as expeditiously as possible,” Trump’s executive order noted. (Portions of the National Endowment for the Arts’ budgets were also reallocated thusly.) Spending big to fund a gaudy tourist attraction while slashing grants for cancer studies and firing federal workers en masse is bad enough. But even assuming the sculpture garden is a done deal, under Trump’s rule we have no idea how the selection process for the figures it will feature will be organized—or if the president will consent to a selection process at all, when he could just pick his favorites. Perhaps even wield the chisel? “This is an historical site being built with taxpayer dollars and there’s no indication thus far on how these individuals will be chosen,” said historian James Grossman, noting the apparent absence of any consultation with professional historians. “It could be useful if it opened up discussion in schools around the country of what is a hero? Who is a hero?” Grossman suggested. But discussion is not what Trump wants. “He thinks there’s only one way to interpret history and it’s one where he situates himself in (it),” Grossman told The Daily Beast. “He and his followers see themselves as saving us from a future which is divisive and honors knowledge.” Trump’s sculpture garden will tell America’s story one way or another. Will he embrace the fullness of the country, or will he demand an imagined history in which he is among the greatest of the greats? The grand plan currently envisions 250 statues at a cost of between $100,000 and $200,000 each to design and build. An initial list of candidates included in an executive order signed by Trump in January 2021 featured (mostly) non-controversial figures across politics, culture and sports: George Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Sacagawea, Neil Armstrong, Babe Ruth, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Humphrey Bogart and the Wright brothers among them. Retired Army brigadier general Ty Seidule, vice-chair of the Naming Commission which selected ten new heroes for army bases previously named for confederate generals (and author of the book “A Promise Delivered” about that process), offered more insight into what makes a person’s legacy worthy of note. “Are we going to reflect what America looks like today, or will we celebrate the return of white rule?” Seidule told the Daily Beast, noting Trump’s view—and platforming—of a country where white men and their cultural values are revered, while multiculturalism is rejected. “Who we commemorate reflects our values,” Seidule continued. “In a hundred years, historians of memory will look back at who we honor today with statues— and will say that sports heroes reflect our values. They seem to have more statues than anyone.” Sports figures bring us together. There’s Babe Ruth, yes. Muhammad Ali. Serena Williams. Lou Gehrig. Jesse Owens. Michael Phelps. Trump has his golf idols—Palmer, yes, and Tiger Woods, who’s at this point just a few steps from family. Maybe Tom Brady? But knowing how he likes to foster division, he’s likely to go back to his long-held grievances and prejudices. He signed a “restoring truth” executive order last month that calls for the reinstatement of monuments and memorials removed for ideological reasons. In other words, he won’t rest until he restores Confederate traitors back on a pedestal.