What is the ‘National Garden of American Heroes?’ How Trump wants to mark the semiquincentennial | FOX 7 Austin

What is the ‘National Garden of American Heroes?’ How Trump wants to mark the semiquincentennial

FILE - US President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The United States is turning 250 years old in 2026 and President Donald Trump is planning a "grand celebration" to mark the day, including a new national monument. 

Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday that aims to establish a task force to coordinate and plan the event, according to the document. 

It also is expected to revive Trump’s plans to build a "National Garden of American Heroes" with statues memorializing historical figures. 

What is the "National Garden of American Heroes?" 

The backstory:

During his first term, Trump envisioned creating a monument of some of the most prominent figures in U.S. history in a collection of what he called "the greatest Americans to ever live."

In a 2020 speech celebrating Independence Day at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, Trump first announced his plans to create what he said would be "a new monument to the giants of our past."

Trump said there would be statues to memorialize 250 historical figures and that he hoped to commission artists to create the first 100.

Trump’s list of some of the people who would be included in the monument were: 

  • George Washington
  • Thomas Jefferson
  • Abraham Lincoln
  • Martin Luther King Jr.
  • Susan B. Anthony
  • Daniel Boone
  • Davy Crockett
  • Frederick Douglass
  • Amelia Earhart
  • Billy Graham
  • Douglas MacArthur
  • Christa McAuliffe
  • Jackie Robinson
  • Betsy Ross
  • Harriet Beecher Stowe
  • Harriet Tubman
  • Booker T. Washington
  • Orville and Wilbur Wright

At the time, no site was selected, and the garden was never funded by Congress. Then-President Joe Biden abolished the task force that Trump formed to create the monument.

Wednesday’s action also puts back into place an executive order Trump signed in 2020, and which Biden also overturned, that was aimed at protecting monuments, memorials and statues from destruction and vandalism.

Trump’s semiquincentennial celebration

During his 2024 campaign, Trump had talked about creating a yearlong "Salute to America 250" celebration. 

Dig deeper:

Wednesday’s executive order called for a task force that would be responsible for coordinating with state and local governments to plan festivities, which is expected to begin this Memorial Day. 

He said he wanted the plan to include a yearlong "Great American State Fair" in Iowa, featuring pavilions that would "showcase the glory of every state in the Union, promote pride in our history, and put forth innovative visions for America’s future." 

Trump also wanted to launch the "Patriot Games," sports contests featuring high school athletes from across the country that he said would "allow young Americans from every state to show off the best of American skill, sportsmanship, and competitive spirit."

The Source: Information for this article was gathered from The Associated Press and an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Jan. 29, 2025. This story was reported from Los Angeles. 

Donald J. TrumpNews