Which controversial political figures have been featured on national park stamps or posters?
This fact-check may be outdated. Consider refreshing it to get the most current information.
Executive summary
The most prominent contemporary example is the 2026 America the Beautiful annual pass that features Donald Trump alongside an image of George Washington, a pairing that has provoked protests and administrative guidance to stop defacement [1] [2] [3]. Historical precedent shows that U.S. postage and park-related issues have sometimes included political leaders — and that those choices have long stirred debate, from Franklin Roosevelt’s stamp-era initiatives to the 1930s “Farley’s Follies” controversy [4] [5] [6].
1. Recent flashpoint: Trump’s photo on the 2026 park pass and immediate fallout
The new America the Beautiful pass for 2026 departs from the long-standing practice of featuring natural imagery by putting an image of Donald Trump next to George Washington, which spurred protesters to place stickers over the portrait and prompted the Department of the Interior and National Park Service to issue guidance warning that coverings can invalidate passes [1] [2] [3]. Small businesses and artists have even marketed stickers to cover the Trump–Washington image as an aesthetic or protest response, a commercial ecosystem that has amplified the controversy and been noted in reporting [7].
2. Legal and organizational pushback: lawsuits and new rules
The appearance of Trump’s image has not only drawn stickers and ranger admonitions but also legal scrutiny: the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit claiming the administration violated a 2004 federal law requiring the main pass to feature the winning photo of a public lands photo contest, and internal DOI guidance circulated about how defacing may void passes [7] [2]. The existence of both agency rules and a pending lawsuit shows the controversy extends beyond taste into statutory process and enforcement [7] [2].
3. Historical precedent: presidents and political figures on stamps and park imagery
Postal and park-themed issues have long intersected with public figures. Early U.S. postage often depicted deceased military and political leaders rather than landscapes, and the 1934–35 National Parks Series itself grew out of Roosevelt administration efforts to promote parks — a campaign led by Roosevelt and supported by Interior Secretary Harold Ickes — even as Postmaster General James Farley’s special printings produced the so-called “Farley’s Follies” controversy among critics [4] [6] [5]. Those episodes demonstrate that featuring political figures or using official art for public relations has historically provoked debate.
4. Mount Rushmore, passport stamps, and the boundary between landscape and leaders
Contemporary park-related collectibles sometimes blur that line: the National Mall/NPS “Passport” and the America’s National Parks stamp sets include sites like Mount Rushmore, which is literally a monument to presidents and thus carries political meaning even when presented as a landscape element [8] [9]. While many WPA-era park posters and New Deal silkscreen prints focused on scenery and visitor education rather than named politicians, site selections like Mount Rushmore inevitably place presidents (and the controversies that surround them) into park iconography [10] [8].
5. Competing perspectives and implicit agendas
Advocates for the 2026 pass position the design as commemoration tied to the nation’s 250th anniversary; opponents see political personalization of a pass that traditionally celebrates public lands, and artist–entrepreneurs selling covering stickers capitalize on and amplify protest sentiment [1] [7]. Reporting and litigation suggest several agendas are at play: political messaging by administrations, preservation of traditional photo-contest processes, commercial opportunity for artists, and activism aimed at reclaiming what critics call the pass’s “aesthetic purpose” [7] [1].
6. Bottom line: who counts as a ‘controversial political figure’ on park issues today
From the contemporary record provided, Donald Trump is the clear, named controversial political figure now featured on a national park pass alongside founding father George Washington — a pairing that has generated protest, administrative action, and litigation [1] [2] [7]. Historically, U.S. stamps and some park-related collectibles have featured presidents and political leaders (rooted in earlier postal traditions and New Deal-era efforts), and those inclusions have prompted their own controversies, exemplified by disputes over the 1930s National Parks stamp series and Roosevelt-era policy [4] [5] [6]. Reporting does not provide a comprehensive list of every controversial figure ever featured, so claims beyond these sourced examples cannot be substantiated here.