Trump's ego trip at Mount Rushmore to celebrate Independence Day risks an awful lot just to make the

[TexasTowelie]

Trump's ego trip at Mount Rushmore to celebrate Independence Day risks an awful lot just to make the President look good.


During a typically clueless moment, President Trump has decided it's safe to shoot off fireworks at Mount Rushmore. Why? Because “it’s all stone.” Yes, he said that. It came out last Friday as part of a ramble about how safe it is to shoot fireworks at the Memorial and it included this doozy: "For 20 years or something it hasn’t been allowed for environmental reasons. You believe that one? It’s all stone."

First off, it hasn't been twenty years. It's been ten. Second, it's all about fire danger, and yes, you better believe that one. Third, it isn't "all stone." Did anybody think to inform the President that the carving site itself is surrounded by 1200 acres of forested land - and that's just within the memorial's boundary? Beyond the boundary are thousands of acres of land, much of it part of the Black Elk Wilderness.

I went to a couple of those shows and, impressive as they are, I could see the burning embers floating around the crest of the the mountain and knew there had to be some serious danger there. As it turned out, 60 to 80 firefighters (as exemplified by the image above from FireEngineering) had to be stationed around the mountain for every show, and by 2010, the pine beetle infestation had created so much fuel for a potential fire that the shows were called off. The fire danger is real enough.

Then there's water contamination from a chemical called perchlorate, which is used in the making of fireworks. Perchlorate goes into the wells that supply the memorial with water and it's still showing up in Mount Rushmore's wells at a rate of 14 to 16 micrograms per liter. This is within the safe range established by the EPA, but considering that it's still lingering after nearly a decade with no new fireworks pollution, people should know that water supplies at the memorial are already contaminated. Trump wants to add even more of that stuff to the local water supply.

Read more: https://www.sdstandardnow.com/home/trumps-ego-trip-at-mount-rushmore-to-celebrate-independence-day-risks-an-awful-lot-just-to-make-the-president-look-good

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. No doubt His Lardship is envisioning his ugly mug up there on the mountain

with the real presidents. Not gonna happen, fat boy - even if there was room for another sculpture it sure as hell wouldn't be you.

[TexasTowelie]

3. America's wannabe dictator is so narcissistic

that he would have the faces of the four presidents on Mt. Rushmore rechiseled into his image and spray-tanned for extra measure.

[duforsure]

5. I agree!

He'll be first suggesting they put his face there too , then he'll have others start threatening to cut any funding or anything he can use to pressure then into doing it for him , and maybe his family too, or he starts in attacking them, and use threats he'll hurt them if they refuse. He'll say something outlandish to redirect attention away from all his failures with this virus, and the media will help him do it by showing it for him.

[OAITW r.2.0]

2. The optics will be dreadful.

Sorry Trump, no place to hide. You aren't Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, or Roosevelt.

You are a pathetic loser. History will give you a special place in US History. A place no amount of money can buy or change.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. His optics are always dreadful. He just doesn't realize it

because he thinks he is still basically a reality TV show host, and that trying to make a show out of everything where he's the star just looks stupid and pathetic.

[frogmarch]

6. What do you want to bet

that before, during, or after the fiasco he will say that his likeness should be on Mt. Rushmore too?