Donald Trump’s Garden of Heroes is a $40 million tourist trap. What a waste | Opinion

Ever since Kobe Bryant scored 81 points in a single game, I’ve been a fan of his skills on the court.

But Kobe doesn’t belong in Donald Trump’s National Garden of American Heroes, and it’s not just because he was once accused of sexual assault.

Being a basketball star does not make you a hero. Neither does hosting a game show, or acting in classic Hollywood movies or founding a major tech company.

Yet Alex Trebek, Lauren Bacall and Steve Jobs also will be included in Trump’s pet project, which was allocated $40 million in the One Big Beautiful Bill.

All 244 honorees played significant roles in our nation’s story, but that doesn’t mean taxpayers should foot the bill to have them cast in bronze or chiseled in marble and then displayed in what’s sounding more and more like a sophisticated version of a wax museum.

Being freakishly good at your job is not heroism.

It doesn’t even guarantee lasting fame, since today’s “heroes” may be overshadowed by tomorrow’s stars. What then? Will Alex Trebek be replaced with Ken Jennings, costing taxpayers even more money?

President Trump, however, has a different take on heroism.

Look at his executive order:

“The National Garden will feature a roll call of heroes who deserve honor, recognition, and lasting tribute because of the battles they won, the ideas they championed, the diseases they cured, the lives they saved, the heights they achieved, and the hope they passed down to all of us.”

Never mind if some of these “heroes” were racists, warmongers, liars, cheats or sexual abusers — as long as they made a mark on the world, they have a place in Trump’s garden.

What makes a hero, anyway?

The president would have been better off adopting Arthur Ashe’s definition of heroism.

The tennis star nailed it: “True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.”

Ironically, Ashe didn’t make Trump’s list — a stunning omission, given his many contributions. Not only was he the first Black American to win the U.S. Open, the Australian Open and Wimbledon, he also was an author, a civil rights advocate and, after publicly announcing that he had HIV, he was instrumental in countering the stigma attached to AIDS.

You know who else will be missing from the garden?

Sen. John McCain, one of the greatest heroes of my lifetime.

And perhaps most shockingly, if you look at the entire list of 244 who did make the cut — including presidents, judges, actors, authors, scientists, musicians, inventors, celebrities — there is not a single person who was openly LGBTQ.

Yet another blow to diversity, equity and inclusion — and another Trumpian attempt to rewrite American history.

Will it ever be built?

Despite all the hype — and the $40 million that is probably more like a down payment — this project may never get off the ground.

Art experts are skeptical; they say there not enough skilled American sculptors or foundries to complete the project in time. (Only U.S. citizens were eligible to apply.)

Another sticking point: The garden doesn’t have a home yet. While a 40-acre site near Mouth Rushmore has been offered by a mining company, that’s already generating controversy.

“‘Big, beautiful’ funding for Trump statue garden could put an ugly blemish in the Black Hills,” was a recent headline in the South Dakota Searchlight.

No wonder the date for completion already has been pushed back. Initially, it was set for July 2026 to coincide with the nation’s 250th birthday celebration. Now the administration hopes to have it finished while Trump is still in office.

But like many of Trump’s grand plans, it just might fade into obscurity.

That’s just as well.

Why should taxpayers be stuck paying for what will likely turn out to be a tourist trap, when there are so many other needs right now? The money would be better invested in the care and upkeep of our national parks, for example, which are woefully underfunded.

Besides, there are plenty of other ways to recognize remarkable personal achievements.

Take Kobe Bryant.

He already has a statue in front of Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles — exactly where it belongs.

This story was originally published July 25, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Donald Trump’s Garden of Heroes is a $40 million tourist trap. What a waste | Opinion."