Top Democrat wants Biden's face on Mount Rushmore: Such a consequential leader

Top Democratic Party leader Nancy Pelosi has suggested that US President Joe Biden should be honoured by adding his face to Mount Rushmore, a national monument in South Dakota featuring the likenesses of four US presidents.

Pelosi, a former House Speaker, made the remark on CBS News Sunday, just days after Biden announced his decision not to run for re-election. She said the 81-year-old Biden is "such a consequential President of the United States, a Mount Rushmore kind of President".

When asked whether she was serious about proposing to have Biden’s face engraved in rock on Mount Rushmore alongside George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, Pelosi said, "You have Teddy Roosevelt up there. And he’s wonderful. I don’t say take him down. But you can add Biden."

Pelosi's comments come amid rumours that she played a role in orchestrating Biden's withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race due to concerns about his ability to defeat Republican candidate Donald Trump.

Biden, already prone to verbal flubs and gaffes, faced increasing doubts about his viability for a second term after a disastrous debate performance against Trump in June.

Pelosi denied leading any efforts to pressure Biden to step down, stating, "No, I wasn’t the leader of any pressure [campaign]."

She said the decision to run or not was ultimately up to the President, saying, "What I’m saying is I had confidence the president would make the proper choice of a country, whatever that would be — and I said that — whatever that is, we’ll go with."

She insisted that she did not pressure Biden and that her support for him remained unwavering.

When questioned about whether Biden needed to step aside, Pelosi maintained that she did not think so as he was “at the top of his game”, adding, "My whole point was whatever he decides, but we have to have a more aggressive campaign."

Pelosi's proposition to add Biden to Mount Rushmore has sparked debate, with some drawing parallels to former President Donald Trump's previous suggestion that he too deserves to be on the monument.