A 12-foot statue depicting President Donald Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein holding hands in a prancing pose appeared on the National Mall early Tuesday morning, immediately drawing condemnation from the White House and attracting crowds of curious visitors. The unauthorized installation was claimed by an anonymous group calling itself "The Secret Handshake," marking the latest in a series of provocative political art installations in the nation's capital.
The statue, constructed primarily from foam and wire painted to resemble bronze, was accompanied by multiple plaques designed to amplify its controversial message. The main plaque read, "We celebrate the long-lasting bond between President Donald J. Trump and his 'closest friend' Jeffrey Epstein," and claimed the installation was "In Honor of Friendship Month." Additional plaques featured excerpts from a sexually suggestive letter purportedly signed by Trump to Epstein, including the quote "There must be more to life than having everything," which Trump has previously denied writing.
The White House responded swiftly to the installation with sharp criticism, dismissing it as a politically motivated stunt. "Liberals are free to waste their money however they see fit – but it's not news that Epstein knew Donald Trump, because Donald Trump kicked Epstein out of his club for being a creep," a White House spokesperson said in an official statement. The spokesperson further argued that "Democrats, the media, and the organization that's wasting their money on this statue knew about Epstein and his victims for years and did nothing to help them while President Trump was calling for transparency, and is now delivering on it with thousands of pages of documents."
The plaques referenced a controversial letter that was released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee earlier this month, adding a layer of current political controversy to the artistic protest. Despite the statue's inflammatory nature, it quickly became a tourist attraction, with visitors stopping throughout the day to take photographs and examine the installation more closely.
Epstein, who died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, had well-documented social connections with Trump and numerous other prominent figures before his legal troubles became widely known. President Trump has consistently maintained that he and Epstein had a falling out many years before Epstein's arrest and has distanced himself from their previous association.
This installation represents the latest example of satirical political art appearing in Washington, D.C., joining a growing trend of unauthorized protest installations. In June, another provocative piece appeared featuring a thumbs-up gesture on a broken Statue of Liberty with a sign reading "dictator approved," accompanied by plaques featuring supportive quotes about Trump from various world leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The anonymous artist behind the Trump-Epstein statue told The Washington Post that there was no connection between their work and another statue that appeared on the National Mall last week, which was placed by a different group to honor Trump for his support of Bitcoin. The artist's identity remains unknown, maintaining the mystery surrounding the installation and its true origins.
The appearance of this controversial artwork highlights the ongoing tensions in American politics and the use of public spaces for political expression. While the installation generated significant attention and debate, questions remain about how long it will be permitted to remain on the National Mall and whether authorities will take action to remove the unauthorized display.
