As hundreds of thousands of individuals had their eyes glued to Sunday’s Tremendous Bowl, President Donald Trump apparently wanted to discover a approach to convey the eye again to him. Not solely did he declare Feb. 9 as “Gulf of America Day,” however he referred to as for abolishing the penny on his flight again from New Orleans.
In a submit to Reality Social, Trump introduced he had instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to cease minting America’s one-cent cash.
He wrote, “For far too long, the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful. Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.”
Like so many issues Trump has tried to do or say since retaking the White Home simply final month, it’s not clear if he can unilaterally discontinue the penny. As The New York Instances reported, congressional intervention would seemingly be required because the physique dictates America’s forex specs.
He’s proper about one factor, although: pennies value greater than they’re value. A 2024 report from the U.S. Mint said that the unit value for pennies (3.69 cents)—and nickels, for what it’s value—has exceeded their face worth for the nineteenth consecutive fiscal 12 months. A conservative estimate from a 2024 New York Instances Journal story stated that roughly 240 billion pennies are mendacity across the nation—which quantities to about $7.24 for each man, girl, and youngster residing right here.
Ought to America transfer ahead with Trump’s considerably controversial plan, it wouldn’t be the primary nation to do away with pennies. Canada sunsetted its one-cent coin greater than a decade in the past. Since then, money transactions are actually rounded to the closest nickel. Australia, in the meantime, removed its one- and two-cent cash again in 1992.
Whereas Trump’s newest proposal may truly be a good concept, it’s unclear if he was simply making an attempt to make information. In any case, he made his announcement shortly after leaving the Tremendous Bowl at halftime, when it turned clear that his beloved Kansas Metropolis Chiefs had been in for a beatdown. He didn’t even hassle to observe Kendrick Lamar’s halftime efficiency (which MAGA appeared to hate) or congratulate the Philadelphia Eagles on their historic win, as he did for the Chiefs after they received the AFC Championship earlier this 12 months.
It is sensible that Trump would maintain a grudge in opposition to Philadelphia, although: Town overwhelmingly supported former Vice President Kamala Harris over him on this previous 12 months’s election. Trump additionally canceled a deliberate go to to the White Home by the Eagles in 2018 citing a disagreement on standing through the nationwide anthem. In fact, fewer than 10 Eagles gamers had dedicated to attending the White Home occasion.
Actually, one in every of Trump’s solely posts in regards to the Tremendous Bowl singled out … Taylor Swift. Swift endorsed Harris within the 2024 presidential election, and Trump hasn’t forgotten. In a late-night submit to Reality Social, he argued that the pop star had a “tougher night” than the Chiefs after the crew her boyfriend performs for misplaced by 18 factors.
“She got BOOED out of the Stadium,” Trump stated, an obvious reference to Eagles’ followers booing Swift when she appeared on the jumbotron. “MAGA is very unforgiving!” (This, after all, isn’t true. Swift didn’t seem to care and as a substitute laughed off Philadelphia followers.)
Possibly Trump had a sense that the Chiefs had been in for a tricky night time. Or maybe he simply craves the highlight (most likely the latter). Earlier than the Tremendous Bowl, he introduced aboard Air Pressure One which he had signed an govt order renaming the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America.”
In different Trump information, he sat down for an unique pre-Tremendous Bowl interview with Fox Information chief political anchor Bret Baier and detailed his plans to instruct DOGE chair Elon Musk to probe the Training and Protection Departments for so-called wasteful spending. He additionally instructed that he totally trusts his billionaire buddy to meet his promise to chop crimson tape. And he doubled-down on his need for Canada to hitch the U.S., although the nation has stated there’s zero need to do that.
Why is it that Trump loves the highlight and must make every thing about him? In case you ask his cronies within the White Home, they’ll say his ubiquity is a part of his try to solidify his base of help whereas hanging a distinction with former President Joe Biden. However certainly, Trump additionally needs to satiate his personal ego.
“As Politico summed it up best, ‘Trump is everywhere again,’” White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated throughout her first briefing in January. “And that’s because President Trump has a great story to tell.”
