During a conversation between co-hosts Don Lemon and Chris Cuomo on CNN, Lemon said he believed if someone were to be added to Mount Rushmore, it should be President Barack Obama.
Trump supporters on Twitter were less than pleased by the idea.
While discussing a California couple who have been charged with a hate crime for painting over a Black Lives Matter mural, Lemon said:
"They want to paint over signs and think 'it's our country'. This is the country that we built."
"Even though a rich diversity of people helped build the country and many of us, meaning ancestors, for free—did not get paid for it."
"Could not get an education, could not build wealth, and are not on statues, confederate or otherwise, are not on Mount Rushmore."
"I think if they are going to put someone on Mount Rushmore, considering the history of the country, the first Black president should be front and centre."
Cuomo agreed, noting "it's a more salable idea than the idea of taking away Founding Fathers."
Lemon added:
"So what's wrong with all of us, together, reshaping our country?"
"The name shouldn't be Mount Rushmore if you talk to Native Americans. It's stolen land."
"It was only Mount Rushmore for 40 years before they started to carve presidents' faces in it. No-one got any money for that."
Of course, the idea of placing President Obama's image on Mount Rushmore sent conservative Twitter into a frenzy.
The President's supporters unified against Lemon's idea, with many saying he was attacking the founding fathers.
Of course, in the wake of nationwide anti-racism protests, the public's relationship with Mount Rushmore has shifted.
Many have drawn attention to the fact that Mount Rushmore was built on sacred land belonging to the Lakota, in direct violation of the 1868 Fort Laramie treaty the United States signed with the tribe.
Though the United States has offered the Lakota a large cash settlement to try and retroactively buy the land for the already-built monument, representatives for the tribe claim that in this matter they have no interest in money.
President of the NDN Collective, Nick Tilsen, commented "we won't settle for anything less than the full return of our lands as stipulated by the treaties our nations signed and agreed upon."
It seemed somewhat doubtful most of the conservatives speaking out against Lemon's idea were processing history on that level, however.
President Obama brought the country out of the Great Recession and managed to go through eight years in office without a real political scandal.
But the President's supporters think Donald Trump would be a better choice.
Don't worry, Trump supporters. There are no plans to add anyone new to Mount Rushmore anytime soon.
