“Donald Trump is a numbers guy” is not a phrase one would normally use without a certain amount of irony. (Fortunately, that is exactly how it is being deployed here.) The details of the federal budget may elude him, but Trump is a big fan of branding, as evidenced by his penchant for slapping his name on every edifice and product available. In the run-up to the nation’s upcoming 250th birthday, Trump has expanded into numerical iconography, treating this year’s semiquincentennial as yet another excuse to put the spotlight on himself.
It’s well-established that Trump loves a big number, no matter how inaccurate it may be, and the bigger the better. He also loves redecorating, putting his face on things, and otherwise making it all about him. It’s no surprise then that his administration has been reportedly pressing the Treasury to issue a $250 bill featuring Trump, which would be the largest denomination issued since 1969.
It’s well-established that Trump loves a big number, no matter how inaccurate it may be, and the bigger the better.
Is it legal for the administration to simply print up a bill and issue it without Congress signing off? No. Would it be possible to do so ahead of the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding? Still no. Would it get much use? Probably less than some of the other items featuring Trump’s presidential mug (not his mug shot, though, that’s a different cash grab for Trump’s business interests). There’s the Trump face-adorned special issue passports, this year’s National Park season passes and a commemorative gold coin he’s having minted.
But let’s focus on the important part here: the $250 value of the proposed bill. It’s a number that has been increasingly cropping up in Trump’s self-aggrandizement programs. He selected the largest option for the Triumphal Arch that he wants to build near Arlington National Cemetery, which would be roughly 250 feet tall when completed. His vision for the “National Garden of American Heroes,” which he has been going on about since the end of his first term, has expanded to include 250 statues of varying historical accuracy.
The pending anniversary has been a useful shield for criticism against Trump’s projects, as it has given him another semiplausible justification for his actions. Much like the ballroom he’s constructing on the remains of the East Wing, Trump has taken to saying everything he’s doing ahead of July 4 is a gift to the American people. Painting the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool blue isn’t a sign of a bored, aging man who isn’t focused on running the country. It’s all part of the plan to make Washington beautiful again for this year’s Fourth of July festivities.
The same goes for painting bronze horse statues around the city and installing new fountains at Lafayette Park near the White House, offering no-bid contracts for the projects despite the potential misuse of taxpayer dollars. Most of these renovations won’t be fully done by July 4, of course, but that’s clearly beside the point. What matters is that Trump gets to enjoy pointing to them and saying that he did it, and maybe get a little plaque installed reminding everyone who was the perfect genius that came up with the idea.
The pending anniversary has been a useful shield for criticism against Trump’s projects, as it has given him another semiplausible justification for his actions
This is just the latest iteration of a tic he picked up during his first term, when he started labeling everything in his orbit with “45” in honor of being the 45th president. During the 2024 campaign, Trump branding transitioned to including both 45 and 47, to preemptively claim the nonconsecutive titles. You can still dine at 45 Wine & Whiskey at Trump Tower if you so choose, but the trinkets and baubles on offer at the Trump Store are now more likely to have “47” emblazoned on them. (He’s also managed to get the next generation fighter jet from Boeing to be named the F-47, which feels embarrassing for everyone involved in that decision.)
For all the blatant self-promotion at work, though, it’s interesting that he at least realizes he needs the fig leaf the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence provides him. (He did manage to forget the reasoning when first pitching the Arc de Trump, as it’s been mockingly nicknamed. When asked who the arch would be built for last year when first presenting the idea, Trump answered: “Me.”) And yet, with the vast majority of musical acts dropping out of the “Great American State Fair” that a White House-backed group has planned, Trump has pivoted to making himself the main attraction, the marquee speaker at an event meant to be about America’s birth.
But in elevating himself to be of equal importance with the nation’s founding, Trump seems to be forgetting the inciting incident for the declaration’s drafting. It was crafted in the opposition of tyranny and in rejection of government tilted toward the whims of one man that America was born. While he may pretend that the monuments that he wants built are meant to glorify the nation and that ideal, Trump’s hijacking of America’s 250th birthday suggests he would prefer if we never left monarchy behind.
Hayes Brown is a writer and editor for MS NOW. He focuses on policymaking at the federal level, including Congress and the White House.