'Pure political correctness': Donald Trump criticizes decision to put Harriet Tubman on $20 bill
Donald Trump said on Thursday that he's against Harriet Tubman replacing former President Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill, suggesting the U.S. should find another denomination of paper currency to honor Tubman.
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"Well, Andrew Jackson had a great history, and I think it's very rough when you take someone off the bill," the Republican frontrunner said during a town-hall event on NBC's "Today Show."
"Andrew Jackson had a history of tremendous success with the country," he added.
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Like retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, a former 2016 candidate who has endorsed Trump, the Manhattan billionaire said another denomination should be found for Tubman. He mused that the Broadway play "Hamilton" was what "saved" Alexander Hamilton, the nation's first secretary of the treasury, from being replaced on the $10 bill.
"I think Harriet Tubman is fantastic," Trump said. "I would love to leave Andrew Jackson and see if we can come up with another denomination. Maybe we can do the $2 bill? I don't like seeing it. I think it's pure political correctness."
"I would love to see another denomination, I think it could take place," he continued. "I think it would be more appropriate."
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Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced Wednesday that Tubman will replace Jackson on the front of the $20 bill, while Jackson's image will appear on the bill's back. The change might not take effect until 2030, at the latest.
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Tubman, who led hundreds of enslaved African-Americans to freedom through the "underground railroad," will be the first African-American to appear on paper currency and first woman in more than a century.
In a Wednesday appearance on the Fox Business Network, Carson, like Trump, said Tubman should have been considered for the $2 bill, a denomination that is seldom used in circulation.
Carson noted that one of Jackson's key achievements was balancing the federal budget, something for which he advocated as a candidate.
"In honor of that, we kick him off of the money," he said.
He added: "I love Harriet Tubman, I love what she did, but we can find another way to honor her. Maybe a $2 bill?"
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