This is the opinion of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of La Voz News.
In 1866, the United States Congress banned the treasury from featuring living people on circulating currency. The law was meant to reinforce the country’s anti-monarchy roots.
Fast forward to today and the law faces opposition at the hands of Donald Trump.
The U.S. Mint strongly considers plastering Trump’s face on the dollar coin this year to celebrate the country’s 250 years of existence.
This comes after the Trump administration elected to change the previously approved commemorative designs of this year’s dime and quarter; these designs were planned to honor Frederick Douglass and the abolition of slavery, highlight the 19th amendment which gave women the right to vote and pay tribute to six year-old Ruby Bridges to celebrate the civil rights movement and desegregated schools.
Instead, Trump’s new designs feature pilgrims, the Mayflower, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, with a tribute to the Gettysburg Address.
Trump’s administration continues to censor the historic struggles and suffrage endured by minorities who helped drastically shape the country — his agenda shows who he sees as “American.”
The last president to memorialize himself, Calvin Coolidge, featured himself with George Washington to commemorate the country’s 150th anniversary; the public detested the coins, and returned 85% of them to be smelted down.
Ego-inflated dictators such as Mao Zedong, Saddam Hussein and Kim Il Sung glorify themselves through their currencies to further promote and boast power among their populations. It’s nothing short of a pretentious means of propaganda.
Though manufacturing currency is not a top priority, as the current state of the country faces a plethora of its own issues, this coin symbolizes how our leader sees and glorifies himself.
If this dollar coin went through, it would embarrass this country’s established foundations — further adding to the long list of laws Trump has bypassed to fulfill his own personal agenda.
