Trump slammed by lawsuit over plan to put his face on parks pass

 

President Donald Trump is facing a blistering new legal challenge after a leading environmental group sued to block the administration from slapping Trump’s own face on the 2026 “America the Beautiful” National Parks pass — replacing a photo of Montana’s Glacier National Park that legally won the public contest.

 

The lawsuit, filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, accuses the administration of staging a blatant “personal branding exercise” by sidelining the contest’s winning landscape photo and substituting a close-up of Trump alongside George Washington. The group argues the switch violates federal law and tramples the long-standing tradition that the pass must feature the annual contest’s winning entry.

 

Kierán Suckling, the group’s executive director, delivered a scorching statement, calling the Trump makeover “disgusting,” “ego-driven,” and “the crassest stunt yet” from a president who treats America’s crown-jewel national parks “like another building to slap his name on.” He said national parks are supposed to unite Americans — not be turned into Trump campaign merch.

 

The lawsuit alleges the administration violated the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act by replacing the legally required winning image — a Glacier National Park landscape — with a photo of Trump that wasn’t taken on federal land, wasn’t submitted to the contest, and wasn’t eligible under any criteria. It also challenges the Interior Department’s sudden creation of new “Resident” and “Nonresident” passes, which the group says are expressly prohibited under federal law.

 

The Glacier photo, which legally should appear on the main pass, has instead been relegated to a new “Nonresident” version — a move critics say is designed to clear space for Trump’s face on the primary pass used by Americans nationwide.

 

The lawsuit lands as Trump’s Interior Department is already under fire for quietly removing Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from next year’s free-access holiday list — while adding Trump’s own birthday, June 14, as a new free-entry day for U.S. residents.

 

The White House dismissed the lawsuit as “frivolous,” with spokesperson Anna Kelly saying environmental groups should be “thanking President Trump for enhancing opportunities for Americans to enjoy our beautiful national parks.”

 

But critics argue the move is part of a wider pattern of politicising previously apolitical federal institutions — turning iconic public symbols into extensions of Trump’s personal branding. For national parks advocates, the issue is bigger than a photo: it’s a fight over whether America’s most cherished natural spaces get used as political props.

 

The case now heads to federal court, where judges will determine whether Trump’s face can lawfully replace one of America’s most iconic landscapes on the nation’s most widely used public-lands pass.

 

Key Takeaways

• Environmentalists say Trump is turning national parks into personal branding material, breaking federal law to plaster his face where a legally chosen landscape should be.

• The lawsuit accuses the administration of illegally creating new “Resident” and “Nonresident” passes to sideline the winning Glacier National Park image.

• Critics say the move fits a growing pattern of politicising federal institutions, including swapping MLK Day and Juneteenth for Trump’s birthday on the free-entry calendar.

 

SOURCE: THE HILL

Rather see his face on Rushmore, but judging by the reaction to this parks pass it was well worth it. Troll on mr Trump you are the undisputed master.

I’m so glad I have my lifetimes, what a worthless piece of human flesh.