Statue of Trump and Epstein holding hands appears on the National Mall
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This statue depicting President Trump and Jeffrey Epstein appeared on the east end of the National Mall in Washington on Tuesday morning. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images
Editor's note: The statue has now been removed. Read the latest report here.
A statue of President Trump holding Jeffrey Epstein's hand and titled "Best Friends Forever" appeared in the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday morning.
The big picture: The spray-painted 12-foot statue of Epstein and Trump, who has said he had a falling out with the convicted sex offender years before the late financier's sex trafficking charges, is the latest of several protest installations against the president to emerge in the nation's capital.
State of play: The statue is across the road from the U.S. Capitol building, and a plaque at its base reads: "We celebrate the long-lasting bond between President Donald J. Trump and his 'closest friend' Jeffrey Epstein."
- One of two other plaques nearby depicts an excerpt from Epstein's birthday book that bears Trump's name. The president has denied he was the author of the excerpt and has brought a lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over it. The newspaper is seeking to have the suit dismissed.
Zoom in: The National Park Service issued a permit for the wood, foam, and resin artwork to be displayed in the Mall until 8pm Sunday, according to the Washington Post.
- "The purpose for the artwork stated on the permit application is 'to demonstrate freedom of speech and artistic expression using political imagery,'" the Post reports.
The intrigue: The Secret Handshake Project group claims it created the statue, and an anonymous representative told Art News they "like the idea that September is unofficially called Friendship Month."
- Trump has had "quite a few friends throughout his life" and "one of his friends" was Epstein, "so we wanted to celebrate that with a statue of what that friendship might feel like," he added.
- The group also claims it was behind other anti-Trump statues in D.C., including one titled "Dictator Approved" that was displayed in June, per USA Today.
What they're saying: "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," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in an emailed statement.
- "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."
- Representatives for the National Park Service did not immediately respond to Axios' Tuesday evening request for comment.
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