Trump Treasury Department Now Wants to Put His Face on Currency
Donald Trump might be getting his face put on a coin while he’s still president.
On Friday, U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach, who heads the mint, confirmed the government’s draft plans of a $1 coin with Trump’s face on it to commemorate America’s 250th birthday.
“Looking forward to sharing more soon, once the obstructionist shutdown of the United States government is over,” he added.
The mock-up shared by MAGA commentator Steve Guest features Trump’s side profile on one side of the coin and, on the other, the caption “FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT” alongside an image of Trump raising his fist, mimicking the iconic photo of him after surviving an assassination attempt last year.
“Despite the radical left’s forced shutdown of our government, the facts are clear: Under the historic leadership of President Donald J. Trump, our nation is entering its 250th anniversary stronger, more prosperous, and better than ever before,” the Treasury Department said in a statement. “While a final $1 dollar [sic] coin design has not yet been selected to commemorate the United States’ semiquincentennial, this first draft reflects well the enduring spirit of our country and democracy, even in the face of immense obstacles.”
Trump, who is fond of depicting himself on massive posters and merchandise, will likely be delighted.
“Oh, I’m not sure he’s seen it,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said when asked what Trump thought about the announcement. “But I’m sure he’ll love it.”
President Trump on Friday issued a self-congratulatory social media post, announcing the restoration of counterterrorism funds to New York—which his administration cut in the first place.
The Department of Homeland Security last Saturday moved to slash $100 million in federal homeland security funding, on top of an $87 million reduction announced in August, to New York. Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, described the move as dangerous and apparently “politically motivated.”
In a lawsuit filed Monday, New York—and a coalition of other states being defunded—sought to claw back funding, which they said was cut in retaliation for their refusal to cooperate with Trump’s deportation program. On Tuesday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the DHS cuts.
On Friday, Trump announced that New York’s funds would be restored in a vainglorious Truth Social post. “I am pleased to advise that I reversed the cuts made to Homeland Security and Counterterrorism for New York City and State,” he wrote. “It was my Honor to do so. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT.”
According to The New York Times, the president had no idea the funds were being cut until Hochul called him to object on Sunday. While he may have intervened to reinstate them, the funds were seemingly only being withdrawn in the first place pursuant to his day-one executive order directing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to “ensure that so-called ‘sanctuary’ jurisdictions … do not receive access to Federal funds.”
Republicans are scrambling to downplay just how much enjoyment President Donald Trump is evidently extracting from preparations to fire federal workers by the thousands amid the government shutdown.
Speaking at a press conference Friday about Trump’s plans to make massive cuts to essential programs amid the government shutdown, House Speaker Mike Johnson admitted that the president was “trolling” Democrats. But at the same time, Johnson claimed that Trump and White House Budget Director Russell Vought took “no pleasure” in making the cuts.
“Now, are they taking great pleasure in that? No. Is [Trump] trolling the Democrats? Yes. I mean, yes! Because that’s what President Trump does, and people are having fun with this,” Johnson said, likely referring to the trough of (often racist) AI slop the president has offered up to mock Democrats in the wake of the government shutdown.
Fox News congressional correspondent Chad Pergram pressed the speaker on his claim. “Square something for me. How can you say, ‘They take no pleasure in this,’ and then the next minute say, ‘Oh, they’re just having fun and trolling people?’” he asked.
“So, the effects are very serious on real people, real Americans. We support federal employees who do a great job in all these different areas. But what they’re trying to have fun with, trying to make light of, is to point out the absurdity of the Democrats’ position,” Johnson said. “And they’re using memes and all the, you know, tools of social media to do that. Some people find that entertaining. But at the end of the day the decisions are hard ones, and I tell you they’re not taking any pleasure in that.”
Earlier this week, Johnson admitted that Trump’s posting was “not [his] style,” and seemed to agree with a Democratic colleague that the president had become “unhinged.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also struggled Friday to downplay how much fun Trump was having in the supposedly uncomfortable positions Democrats had put him in. “Democrats have given this administration an unenviable choice to have to take a look at the balance sheet and identify where these cuts and layoffs can be made,” Leavitt said.
ABC’s Mary Bruce hit back at Leavitt’s claim, pointing out that the president had described the shutdown as an “unprecedented opportunity” to lay off additional federal workers, and gleefully posted a pathetic parody video to Truth Social comparing Vought to the Grim Reaper.
“So which is this,” Bruce asked. “Is this an opportunity to fire more workers, or an unfortunate consequence?”
“Look, the president likes to........© New Republic
