DONATE TRUMP-SIGNED CURRENCY TO ACLU! THEN TELL HIM SO! 

MERRIAM-WEBSTER NOTES THE WORD “TRIBUTE” HAS CONTRASTING MEANINGS: One positive; the other, less so. M-W defines a tribute may be “something (such as material evidence or a formal attestation) that indicates the worth, virtue, or effectiveness of the one in question.”

Alas, a tribute may also be “an exorbitant charge levied by a person or group having the power of coercion.”

Image by Eric Lee for The New York Times. My emergency inversion makes his signature more readable. (Now you tell one.)

I propose treating the planned U.S. currency emboldened with Trump’s signature as a tribute—in both these senses: It is an exorbitant charge levied by an arrogant narcissist having the power to coerce. 

And, in countering this, I propose that any such currency entering my life will be directly routed to an organization deserving my respect and gratitude: the American Civil Liberties Union.

Thus, this currency can be mocked as well as directed to where it benefits people.

In what follows, here are tidbits gleaned from several relevant sources, together with photos of the latest “No Kings” rallies from around the world, including on Bristol Street, Santa Ana, California.

An enthusiastic gathering along “main street U.S.A.” here in SoCal. (Accompanying by encouraging horn beeping.)

An Unprecedented Change. Alan Rappeport recounts in “Trump’s Signature Is Set to Be Added to America’s Currency,” The New York Times, March 26, 2026: “Mr. Trump is set to become the first sitting U.S. president to have his signature on the greenback. His name will appear alongside [to the left of] that of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. As a result, the U.S. treasurer, whose name has been on the currency for more than a century, will not appear on the currency.”

Narcissism and Toadyism. Rappeport quotes Bessent: “There is no more powerful way to recognize the historic achievements of our great country and President Donald J. Trump than U.S. dollar bills bearing his name, and it is only appropriate that this historic currency be issued at the semiquincentennial.”

Historically unprecedented? Yes. From an obsequious toady? Hardly the first time. Narcissistic? A little-fingered characteristic.

Rappeport observes, “The addition of Mr. Trump’s signature to dollars is the latest example of the president emblazoning national institutions with his personal brand as he looks to permanently imprint his legacy in American society.”

Rappeport also quotes Brandon Beach, Treasurer of the United States (the signature of whom would ordinarily exist to the left of the Secretary of the Treasury’s): “The president’s mark on history as the architect of America’s Golden Age economic revival is undeniable. Printing his signature on the American currency is not only appropriate, but also well deserved.” 

Well, gee. Why not his image as well?

손가락 짧은 지도자께 and the DoJ. Image by Eric Lee for The New York Times. Emergency inversion and Korean (“Dear Short-fingered Leader”), mine.

Ashley Ahn observes in “New Trump Banner Hung on Justice Department Headquarters,” The New York Times, February 19, 2026: “Large banners of President Trump now hang from multiple federal buildings in Washington, including the nation’s top law enforcement branch, in a bold statement of power and influence over the government…. The signage is a strikingly prominent indication of how Mr. Trump has eroded the separation that has long existed between the Justice Department and the White House to protect the department from political influence.”

So much for 손가락 짧은 지도자께 and the historic separation.

“That careful distance,” Ahn observes, “has been dissolving since the beginning of Mr. Trump’s second term. He has installed allies at the top ranks of the department to oversee a retribution campaign and investigate perceived political enemies. Hundreds of agency lawyers have since been fired, and thousands more have resigned.” 

All part of the mob action of a Queens felon.

Back to Autographed Currency. Rappeport recounts, “The history of who gets to sign the money dates to 1861, when President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill allowing the Treasury secretary to delegate the treasurer of the United States to sign Treasury notes and bonds. According to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 1914 was the first year that the Treasury secretary and the treasurer started signing the currency together.”

Not Without Controversy. Rappeport continues “Changes to the features of American currency are often fraught with controversy. During the Obama administration, Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew initiated an effort to make Harriet Tubman, the former slave, abolitionist and ‘conductor’ on the Underground Railroad, the face of the $20 note. That stalled during Mr. Trump’s first term, and Mr. Biden did not revive the change.”

“The move to add Mr. Trump’s signature,” Rappeport observes, “could stir controversy of its own.” You’re telling me! 

You are encouraged to direct Trump-signed currency to a worthy organization of your choice. And don’t forget to tell him (c/o Mar-a-Lago, 1100 S. Ocean Blvd, Palm Beach, Florida 33480).

That’s surely to irritate him, just down the road from what used to be Palm Beach’s Southern Boulevard, renamed President Donald J. Trump Boulevard as of January 2026. One wonders if it’ll be renamed come January 2029. ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2026