A recreation of Mount Rushmore with the faces of current world leaders including Trump unveiled in Thailand. | AP

Dear C0mmons Community,

A new monument depicting a “Mount Rushmore” of world leaders—Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, and Xi Jinping—has been unveiled.

The satirical display equates Trump with authoritarian leaders such as Putin, Xi, and Kim, a comparison that reflects ongoing global debates over his political style and rhetoric.

By borrowing the imagery of Mount Rushmore—a monument celebrating U.S. democracy—the installation highlights anxieties about whether Trump belongs among strongmen rather than statesmen.

What To Know

The sculpture was unveiled on September 23 in the atrium of Bangkok’s Seacon Square.

The two-story replica was built to promote the Somewhere Else The Series–The Summit Camp event. Visitors can pay 99 baht ($3.09) to scale a rock-climbing wall beside the installation. 

The installation takes its inspiration from Mount Rushmore, the granite monument in South Dakota completed in 1941, which features the carved faces of U.S. presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln to represent the country’s founding, growth, development, and preservation.

Is Trump a Dictator?

Trump has faced mounting accusations in 2025 of behaving like a dictator, with critics pointing to a series of moves they say undermine democratic institutions and concentrate power in the presidency.

Democratic leaders have been some of the loudest voices sounding the alarm. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned that Trump’s efforts to use the Justice Department to target political opponents marked “the path to a dictatorship.” Senator Chris Murphy echoed the concern, saying the U.S. risked becoming a “banana republic” if the Justice Department were weaponized against critics.

That came after Trump publicly urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to step up investigations into his political rivals. In a social media post directed at Bondi, he wrote: “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility.”

He went on to complain that “nothing is being done,” while specifically calling for probes into former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, who led his first impeachment trial.

Trump has also leaned heavily on aggressive rhetoric when dealing with U.S. cities. He threatened to send National Guard troops and immigration agents into Chicago, even releasing a stylized image portraying a “war” on the city. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker condemned the move, calling Trump a “wannabe dictator.”

Authoritarian Moves

At times, Trump has directly addressed the accusation. “I’m not a dictator. I don’t like a dictator,” he has said in response to criticism. But in other contexts, he has appeared to toy with the label, claiming, “a lot of people are saying ‘maybe we’d like a dictator,’” when defending his tough-on-crime policies.

Scholars and experts argue that the comparisons are not just rhetorical. Kim Lane Scheppele, a Princeton University professor who studies authoritarian governments, told The Guardian Trump’s willingness to mobilize the National Guard suggested he was preparing “a military, repressive force … to just put down the whole thing by force.”

Political scientist Steven Levitsky likewise warned that Trump’s actions amounted to authoritarianism, pointing to the systematic abuse of power, efforts to tilt the playing field, and erosion of democratic guardrails.

Tony

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