The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of any organization.
Ever since October of 2024, protest statues against the Trump administration have been on the rise across the nation, catching the attention of many U.S. citizens. Tourists and locals have been crowding around these statues to take a look at this unique form of protest while those at get to see them on the nightly news. These statues, through their criticism of the Trump administration’s tactics in governing and the president’s divisive behavior, demonstrate how artistic freedom of speech vindicates the first amendment right to political expression.
This wave of art started in Washington DC with a bronze statue that appeared in October 2024 a week before election day. The statue, titled “The Resolute Desk,” was a bronze replica of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s desk with cartoony feces as large as a basketball on top. The statue was based on an infamous moment during the January 6th Capitol attacks where many of the participants broke into Pelosi’s office. The plaque of the statue references this, saying, “This memorial honors the brave men and women who broke into the United States Capital on January 6th, 2021 to loot, urinate, and defecate throughout those hallowed halls in order to overturn an election”. Another plaque read, “President Trump celebrates these heroes of January 6th as ‘unbelievable patriots’ and ‘warriors.’ This monument stands as a testament to their daring sacrifice and lasting legacy.” Trump notably pardoned nearly 1600 of the January 6th rioters after being sworn into office.
A similar statue would also appear in the District of Columbia to criticize Trump’s defense of the 2017 Charlottesville White Nationalist rally, “Unite the Right”. The statue depicted a bronze tiki torch titled “The Donald J. Trump Enduring Flame” at the Freedom Plaza, a reference tiki torches used by the rally’s participants. The plaque of this statue reads, “This monument pays tribute to President Donald Trump and the ‘very fine people’ he boldly stood to defend when they marched in Charlottesville, Virginia”. Another one below continues, “While many have called them white supremacists and neo-Nazis, President Trump’s voice rang out above the rest to remind all that they were ‘treated absolutely unfairly’. This monument stands as an everlasting reminder of that bold proclamation”.
Meant to attack Trump for his comments defending the participants of the Unite the Right rally, the statue referenced his statement that there were “very fine people on both sides” of the event. Trump would make these comments despite the open participation of Neo-Confederates, Neo-Nazis, Klansmen, and other white supremacists chanting racist remarks at the rally. One attendee who had expressed neo-Nazi beliefs, James Alex Fields, purposefully rammed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing Heather Heyer and injuring 35 others; he was later convicted of first-degree-murder and 30 hate crimes charges. Because of the views and actions of the protesters and organizations present on that day, Trump would face scrutiny for the remarks which would become the basis for the “Donald J. Trump Enduring Flame”and its plagues. Both this and the “The Resolute Desk,”, despite their references to different events, censure Trump’s praise for people and protesters he claims are heroes despite their racist views and violent actions.
In June, another statue appeared on the National Mall in opposition to Trump’s upcoming military parade. The work titled, “Dictator Approved,” featured a giant gold thumb crushing the cracked and damaged head of the Statue of Liberty. The pedestal that holds the head and thumb has the statue’ name spelled out with gold letters and four plaques underneath the title on each of the pedestal’s sides. The plaques all contain quotes from infamous modern dictators praising Trump. The dictators included are Russian president Vladimir Putin, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, and the Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong Un. The statue’s appearance occurred against the context of a massive military parade that was ordered by Trump, which some criticized as a celebration of the president himself due to its proximity to his birthday. By drawing parallels between Trump and several dictators who have opposed democracy in their own nations, the statue suggests that the president could threaten democracy and crush the ideals represented by the Statue of Liberty underfoot.
But the most infamous of the anti-Trump protest statutes would come in September 2025 as an ostensible celebration of friendship month. The bronze statue titled “Best Friends Forever” features Trump smiling with glee, one foot in the air, while holding the hand of his long-time associate and convicted sex-offender Jeffery Epstein as he also smiles at the president, striking the same pose. Alluding to accusations of Trump participating in Epstein’s crimes, the statue jokingly mentions how its installation was to celebrate friendship month. The plaque reads, “In honor of Friendship Month, we celebrate the long-lasting bond between President Donald J. Trump and his ‘closest friend, Jeffery Epstein”.
Several sources indicate that Trump and Epstein had a strong, long-standing relationship as business partners, a relationship now downplayed by Trump himself. A birthday card sent to Epstein by Trump, including a pencil-sketched nude, gave more credence to theories that Trump’s name was present on the Epstein client list, a thorn in the side of the president and his administration. Trump’s failure to release the long-sought-after Epstein files comes after being plagued by accusations of sexual misconduct, the Epstein accusations being the pinnacle of them. Trump, despite stating that he would release the Epstein files during his campaign, now denies that they ever existed in the first place, and more backlash came after the statue was removed from the Mall even though it had received a permanent permit from the National Park Service. The Department of the Interior would tell NPR that the statue was removed “because it was not compliant with the permit issued,” but many stated that it appeared as if the Trump administration had removed it due to the ongoing Epstein files controversy. The Trump administration would still face backlash for its removal, with the group who made and installed the statue mocking Trump removing the statue even though he himself has criticized the removal of Confederate statues. Fortunately to those who were fans of the statue and unfortunately for those who hated it, it was later reinstalled in the same place with the new name, “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”. When asked for comments on the statue’s reappearment by CNN, a Department of the Interior spokesman would respond saying, “The only people holding hands in D.C. right now are Schumer and Jeffries after they shut down the government to push their radical agenda.”
After seeing all of these works of art, one wonders: Who is responsible for them? The group that has taken responsibility for all of these works is an anonymous group of artists called the Secret Handshake, which works in the District of Columbia installing temporary satirical works of art as a work of activism. It is unknown what the group’s next work of art will be, but the Secret Handshake will most likely continue to exercise their rights to free speech through their unique form of activism.
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