South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) on Wednesday’s “Fox & Friends” addressed the possibility of Mount Rushmore National Memorial becoming the next target of protesters as calls to remove statues and memorials of leaders with flawed pasts have increased.
In a Tuesday tweet, Noem said nothing will happen to Mount Rushmore on her “watch.” Speaking to “Fox & Friends” on FNC, she stressed the importance of not erasing the United States’ history.
“[W]e’ve seen some activity online where people have made threats to that,” Noem advised. “What my message is, is that this is no longer about equality, this is a radical rewriting of our history and in South Dakota we won’t stand for it. This is a national monument. The more we focus on the flaws of these men that are on our mountain, the less likely we are to recognize the virtues and the lessons we can learn from their lives. So that really is the message that I have for South Dakotans that love this mountain and Mount Rushmore for this country, that recognize what it represents to us and we will do all that we can to make sure that that message is loud and clear, that we will make sure that Mount Rushmore stays as majestic as it is today.”
“This whole conversation has changed,” she added. “It’s gone away from equality and it’s a radical movement that’s rewriting our history, that will take away all the lessons that we want to teach our kids and our grandkids. George Washington was a unifier. He brought this country together to lead us at a time when we needed the birth of the nation to get started.”
Noem would not go into detail on how she plans to protect Mount Rushmore, but she said she taking action to put a plan in place.
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent
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