Originally posted on June 2, 2026
It may seem a bit strange to place Donald Trump in the company of late 18th century fanatical French revolutionaries, but his continued destruction of our national parks earns his place there. If anything, Trump’s wanton vandalism may have outdone the rabid frenzy of his predecessors.
In 1794, Henri Grégoire, an egalitarian republican, appeared before the National Convention to denounce those who were destroying his nation’s inherited cultural heritage. He coined the term “vandalism” to brand them. To him, the French heritage included “national objects which, belonging to no one, are the property of all.” He shares an ethos with lovers of American national parks and other public lands: that we are stewards, not owners, of what we’re given, and that we are accountable to everyone for it.
Before cataloguing Trump’s campaign of horrors against our cherished heritage, it’s important to note that many in his party oppose his actions. There is bipartisan outrage at his vandalism. So, we cannot identify today’s vandals too broadly. It’s Trump, his immediate circle and the contractors willing, for a few billion dollars, to do the actual defacing, scrawling his special brand of indelible graffiti across our national parks, monuments and other cherished landmarks. The White House, a National Historic Landmark vandalized by Trump, comes to mind.
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