Donald Trump asks South Dakota governor to add his face to Mount Rushmore

President Donald Trump urged South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden to get his face on Mount Rushmore in his latest push to be alongside some of the most celebrated presidents in history at the historic site.

As the president announced that all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico signed on to participate in his most-favored-nation program, which is set to bring down the prices of certain drugs to those paid in foreign nations, he pivoted to make the bizarre plea.

“Well, I’m being very nice to him because maybe he’ll get my face on that beautiful wall. That beautiful wall that I’ve been looking at. Come on, Larry. Come on, let’s get going. You got to get going,” the president told Rhoden as the room around him laughed.

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Users on social media were quick to joke about the president’s request, with some trolling him for it.

“Placing Trump on Mount Rushmore would be as embarrassing to America as it would be embarrassing for the New York Knicks to sign me to an NBA contract. Neither should ever happen!” one user joked on X.

“The forced laughs from Dr. Oz, RFK, and who I can only assume is a shaved Lorax is what really sells this,” another user posted.

“Yeah. Get going! Graffiti artists in the US are patiently waiting,” a third one sarcastically said.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Republicans have pushed to add Trump’s likeness to the monument. In fact, lawmakers like Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, have championed the idea, who sponsored legislation that would order the president’s face to be carved into the mountain.

Likewise, during an interview with the president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum suggested there was space in the monument for an additional face.

Trump makes healthcare announcement

The Trump administration argues that the plan will help Medicaid save billions on prescription drugs. However, experts have repeatedly cast doubt on that plan.

“This one thing alone should win us the midterms,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Friday, flanked by Human and Health Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz and others.

Friday’s announcement comes as cost-of-living issues continue to rank at the top of voters’ priorities ahead of November’s midterm elections. In an attempt to address this, the president has cut deals with pharmaceutical companies so that the cost of drugs in the U.S. would not be significantly higher than in other countries.

Last year, Trump signed an executive order instituting a “Most Favored Nations” policy, where the U.S. would commit to paying the same price for medications as the nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the world.

The White House in May estimated that Trump’s deals with pharmaceutical companies to lower some of their U.S. prescription drug prices to levels charged in other countries could save $529 billion over the next 10 years.

Patients in Medicaid, the state- and federally-funded program for people with low incomes, already pay a nominal co-payment of a few dollars to fill their prescriptions, but lower prices could help state budgets that fund the programs.

The true cost of the claimed savings is unclear since few details of the deals struck by the Trump administration and participating pharmaceutical companies have been made public, making it hard to independently verify the projected savings.

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