The U.S. currency, the "dollar," is more than just a medium of exchange; it is the global reserve currency that sustains the world economy and a visual crystallization of the credit and democratic values built by the United States. Figures appearing on the front of dollar bills, such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Benjamin Franklin, are the founding fathers and symbols of unity who have passed the rigorous scrutiny of history and earned the respect of all Americans. However, recent news that the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing are pushing for the issuance of a "250-dollar commemorative bill featuring the portrait of President Donald Trump" is shaking the very authority of the currency and America's long-standing tradition to its roots.
Although presented under the pretext of celebrating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, the idea of engraving the face of a sitting, living president on currency is in itself a product of arrogance and self-righteousness. Since 1866, the United States has strictly prohibited the use of portraits of living public officials or politicians on currency through law and custom. This grand principle, which has lasted for nearly 160 years, stemmed from reflection on a controversy over illegality and the privatization of power that arose when a Treasury official put his own face on currency at the time. If the issuance of this commemorative bill becomes a reality, the United States will collapse the democratic values and traditions it has defended in an instant, following in the footsteps of past absolute monarchies or authoritarian dictatorships that deified the portraits of those in power.
What is even more concerning is the irrational rampage and coercion of power manifested in this process. According to foreign media reports, the drafting process is already well underway within the Treasury Department, and President Trump has reportedly even offered his own design feedback. Furthermore, Patricia Solimene, Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, who expressed her opposition by questioning the legal and procedural legitimacy of this absurd plan, was suddenly transferred to another department last month. Even the independent and professional administrative organization that issues the nation's official currency has degenerated into a tool for purges and personnel management tailored to the tastes of the ruler. This is a stark example of how a state system, which should be a public asset, can be privatized for the personal greed and political purposes of a specific individual.
Reflecting on the harm President Trump has inflicted on the international community and the global economy, the fact that his face could be engraved on the dollar—the global reserve currency—is truly disastrous. Embodying an extreme national egoism termed "America First," he shattered the international order and alliances maintained for decades in a single stroke. Consistently using coarse and vulgar language instead of universal diplomatic rhetoric, he threatened allies, dropped indiscriminate tariff bombs, and plunged the global supply chain and world economy into extreme turmoil. Furthermore, rather than mediating geopolitical conflicts, he actively stoked disputes for his own political gain, leaving him unable to escape criticism for pushing the world into a crucible of war and instability.
To elevate a figure who has undermined international trust and caused continuous division and conflict within his own country as the symbol of the 250th anniversary of America's founding is an insult to history and an affront to democracy. The individuals engraved on currency represent the highest values and moral aspirations a nation strives for. If a banknote bearing Trump's portrait is issued, the world will confirm that the United States is no longer a leader in democracy, human rights, and international solidarity, but merely a "declining empire" driven only by the dogmatism and egoism of its ruler.
Currently, the relevant legislation proposed by some Republican lawmakers is reportedly struggling in the face of fierce opposition. However, regardless of the final passage of the bill, the very reality that such a concept is being seriously reviewed at the core of the White House and the Treasury, and that dissenters are being ousted, proves that the brakes on American democracy have already failed. The Treasury Department attempts to bypass the controversy by stating that there is no legal issue with issuing 100-dollar bills bearing the sitting president's signature, but this too is fundamentally no different from a power-tripping display of authority.
Currency is not the exclusive property of the ruler, but a vessel containing the trust of all citizens. The value of the dollar does not come from the gold or the quality of the paper within it, but from the global trust in the moral authority and democratic system of the nation known as the United States. President Trump and the ruling American forces must immediately stop this reckless greed to engrave his face on the currency. The moment the portrait of a living politician who has not stood the test of history is engraved on currency, the credit of the dollar will plummet, and the history of American democracy will record one of its most shameful pages of regression.
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