Trump Reveals Waterfront Site for Long-Planned National Garden of American Heroes
President Donald Trump announced Friday that the National Garden of American Heroes will be located in the West Potomac Park between the Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln memorials.
“This magnificent exhibition of statues will be located in West Potomac Park, which we are transforming into one of the World’s most beautiful public spaces,” Trump posted on Truth Social on board Air Force One on his way back from China.
“Right now, it is a totally BARREN field of Prime Waterfront Real Estate along our Mighty Potomac River. When finished, West Potomac Park will be a World Class Masterpiece with elegant Landscaping, and adorned with Beautiful Statues, and be yet another one of my great projects to make Washington, D.C., the Safest and Most Beautiful Capital in the World,” he added.
I am proud to announce the site of the NATIONAL GARDEN OF AMERICAN HEROES. This magnificent exhibition of statues will be located in West Potomac Park, which we are transforming into one of the World’s most beautiful public spaces. Right now, it is a totally BARREN field of Prime… pic.twitter.com/gabjF06cRK
— Donald J Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) May 15, 2026
“The National Garden of American Heroes will feature the MOST BEAUTIFUL collection of statues of AMERICAN HEROES, featuring our Illustrious Founding Fathers, Military Warriors, Religious Leaders, Civil Rights Champions, World Class Athletes, Artists, Entertainers, and MORE,” Trump wrote, regarding the 250 planned statues to commemorate the semiquincentennial celebration.
Trump first announced the project in 2020 while speaking at a July 4 celebration at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.
President @realDonaldTrump announced the creation of a new monument: the National Garden of Heroes!
It will be a vast outdoor park featuring statues of the greatest Americans who have ever lived. We will honor extraordinary citizens from every part of our nation. pic.twitter.com/Q8obzrUUl0
— The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) July 5, 2020
The announcement came as protesters, following the death of George Floyd in May 2020, had torn down or vandalized statues of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, and Union General and President Ulysses S. Grant, among others.
Trump released a list of statues for the Garden in January 2021, shortly before leaving office, that includes the five named above.
Some of the others listed are John and Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, Muhammad Ali, Billy Graham, Susan B. Anthony, Louis Armstrong, Neil Armstrong, Irving Berlin, Walt Disney, Civil War Gen. Joshua Chamberlain, Frank Capra, Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Edward R. Murrow, Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, Jimmy Stewart, Shirley Temple, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, Roberto Clemente, and World War II generals Douglas MacArthur and George Patton.
🚨 JUST IN: Trump announces the National Garden of American Heroes will include several African American icons:
– Kobe Bryant
– MLK Jr
– Frederick Douglas
– Jackie Robinson
– Harriet Tubman
– Muhammad Ali
– Rosa Parks
– Billie Holiday
– Coretta Scott King
– Arethra Franklin pic.twitter.com/V1jEMk74eH— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 20, 2025
President Joe Biden cancelled the Garden project after taking office in May 2021; however, Trump reinstated it last year.
The National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts have contributed a combined $34 million to fund the project, according to an April 2025 news release.
“NEH is pleased to collaborate with NEA to bring to fruition the vision of a National Garden of American Heroes,” said acting NEH Chairman Michael McDonald at the time. “The garden will provide the public with an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of how the lives and accomplishments of these individuals have shaped our history and culture.”
The statues will all be life-sized and made of marble, granite, bronze, copper, or brass.
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