U.s. presidential coin gets trumpian makeover
The coin is gold, compared to the traditional copper and silver.
WASHINGTON: Breaking with tradition, US President Donald Trump has made drastic changes to the presidential “challenge coin”.
The most notable change is the replacement of the national motto, “E pluribus unum” —a Latin phrase that means “Out of many, one” — with Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again”, the Washington Post reported.
Trump was reportedly personally involved with designing the coin.
Trump’s “un-traditional” coin does not include the presidential seal, but instead an image of the White House and an American flag on one side, and an image of an eagle with its head facing right on the other. The 13 arrows representing the original states have disappeared.
In addition to his signature, Trump’s name appears three times on the coin, which is thicker than those made for past Presidents. The coin is gold, compared to the traditional copper and silver.
It is designed to literally stand on its own and also features a gold-plated, ribbon-shaped banner bearing Trump’s name in capital letters that doubles as a rocking-horse-style base.
The White House offered conflicting accounts of which funds were used to purchase the coins, with one aide saying they were paid for by the White House and a second aide later saying that the Republican National Committee (RNC) was covering the expense. An RNC spokeswoman confirmed later that the party was paying for the coins.
“They’re going to be used in ways they haven’t been in the past,” said the second White House aide, adding that they may be distributed at campaign rallies and to donors.
The commemorative coins stem from the military tradition of exchanging coins covertly through a handshake. US Presidents give them to troops, visitors and other members of the public. The coins have become collector’s items and are sometimes sold for hundreds of dollars.
“For the Commander-inChief to give a political token with a campaign slogan on it to military officers would violate the important principle of separating the military from politics, as well as diminishing the tradition of the coin,” said Trevor Potter, a Republican former chairman of the Federal Election Commission. Separatists looked set on Friday to regain power in Catalonia after voters rejected Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s attempt to neuter its independence movement, instead reigniting the country’s biggest political crisis in decades.
Spanish markets recoiled at a surprise result that is also a setback for the European Union, which must now brace for more secessionist noise as it grapples with the disruption of Brexit and simmering east European discontent.
By risking a parliamentary election in the region, Rajoy appears to have made the same mistake that leaders including Greece’s Alexis Tsipras, Britain’s David Cameron and Italy’s Matteo Renzi have made in recent years: betting that voters would resolve their troublesome domestic conundrums for them. With well over 99% of votes from Thursday’s election counted, separatist parties had secured a slim majority.
Spain’s stock market fell around 1% and the country’s borrowing costs rose as investors bet the ensuing ramp-up in tensions with its richest region will hurt the euro zone’s fourth-largest economy. Rajoy ruled out calling national elections over events that have weakened his authority, while both he and exiled separatist leader Carles Puigdemont said they were open for dialogue. After several strained months that saw secessionists organise an illegal referendum on 1 October, and police confiscate urns to try to prevent it from taking place, the election result has done nothing to resolve the standoff either. Rajoy, who called the election after sacking the previous secessionist government, had hoped to mobilise hitherto quiescent supporters of union with Spain and deal separatism a decisive blow. Instead, his own party performed miserably, and the result raises the question of a return to power for Puigdemont, who campaigned from self-imposed exile in Brussels after Rajoy deposed him as Catalan president.
While Rajoy dodged questions about whether he would negotiate directly with Puigdemont, the Catalan politician said now was the time for dialogue between the two. “We’ve at least won the right to be heard,” Puigdemont said, adding that he was open to returning to Spain if given guarantees that he could take his position as head of a potential new Catalan government. Currently he faces the prospect of arrest for his role in organising the banned referendum.