US: Trump’s Face on New Coin Sparks Backlash, Social Media Trolling, Called the “Death of Liberty
The US Mint has begun selling one-dollar “gold” coins bearing the image of President Donald Trump, making him the second sitting president to appear on American currency. Produced to mark the country’s 250th anniversary, the coin features the word “LIBERTY” above Trump’s face, alongside the years 1776 and 2026 joined by a dash. Observers say…
The US Mint has begun selling one-dollar “gold” coins bearing the image of President Donald Trump, making him the second sitting president to appear on American currency. Produced to mark the country’s 250th anniversary, the coin features the word “LIBERTY” above Trump’s face, alongside the years 1776 and 2026 joined by a dash. Observers say the design resembles birth and death dates for liberty itself.
Prominent economics writer Catherine Rampell criticized the design, saying it shows “liberty’s birth date of 1776 and its death date of 2026.” The Treasury is selling the coins well above their intrinsic value, with prices for rolls and bulk bags sharply marked up.
Coin faces legal opposition
Democratic lawmakers and a bipartisan committee that reviews currency design objected to the coin from its earliest proposal, arguing that featuring a sitting president violates democratic norms and possibly the federal law limiting coin imagery to deceased individuals.
Mint officials maintain the design was produced under a 2020 law permitting anniversary-themed dollar coins, pointing to a 2021 act signed by Trump that only bars living figures from a coin’s reverse side, and citing the precedent of Calvin Coolidge appearing on a coin in 1926. Democrats introduced legislation explicitly aimed at blocking Trump from appearing on currency, with Senator Jeff Merkley comparing the move to authoritarian practice.
Part of a broader pattern
The coin is part of a wider trend of Trump attaching his name and image to federal institutions — including banners on government buildings, a redesigned “Patriot Passport,” Trump-branded policies such as TrumpRx and the Trump Gold Card, and military projects including Trump-class warships. He also faces ongoing legal battles over renaming the Kennedy Center, renovating the White House grounds, and demolishing the East Wing for a new ballroom complex.
