‘Ugly *** statue’: Tourists react to new Trump-Epstein ‘Titanic’ style statue on the National Mall
No, that is not a statue of Jack and Rose on the National Mall.
The “King of the World” statue depicting President Donald Trump and financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in the iconic pose from the 1997 movie “Titanic” is actually the latest protest art from The Secret Handshake.
The group delivered their first statue, “Best Friends Forever” of Trump and Epstein last September to Third Street NW facing the west side of the U.S. Capitol Building.
The group’s January display was a giant version of a birthday card Trump signed for Epstein in 2003.
If the goal of The Secret Handshake is to use art and humor to prompt political discourse, then it seems to have worked.
On Wednesday, people lined up to take selfies with the statue.
Many walked up to complete strangers and handed them their phones to take a picture with their families. Some took snapshots for people who couldn’t make it in person, like Carol, who was holding a massive Sony camera.
“My son texted and asked me to come and capture this piece of art,” she said.
The Alexandria resident told WTOP that her son lives in Connecticut, but he wanted the picture because, “It’s just a little piece of history.”
As people respectfully moved to make sure they were not blocking anyone’s picture, laughter could be heard from people walking up and catching their first view of the statue.
“It’s funny. It’s just funny,” Likia said with a laugh. “Like, who would have thought of this?”
The Washingtonian said she thought the artwork was “innovative.”
Another person who could not stop laughing was Spencer Berry, who said he didn’t have the words to describe it.
Berry, who is from D.C., but now lives in San Antonio, Texas, said the statue was the “highlight” of his trip back home.
Mary, who is vacationing in D.C. along with her two kids from Nashville, did not seem impressed with this piece of art.
“That’s an ugly a** statue,” said Mary. “I think it’s ironic that it’s that ugly, because it represents a situation that is pretty ugly.”
A group of high school students from Philadelphia posed in front of the statue.
Jonah, who was part of the group, said he was happy he had his sunglasses on since the statue was so “shiny.”
“I think that shine represents how blinded we’ve all been to the administration and the things that they’re able to do behind the scenes, and this is kind of it coming to light,” Jonah said.
As the students moved from in front of the statue, Dee, who lives in D.C., took their place for a picture.
“I kind of like it,” she said. “It kind of shows us that politics are a joke right now.”
The statue was not the only part of the art installation; there were also 10 campaign-style blue banners with Trump and Epstein’s picture that read, “Make America Safe Again.” The Department of Justice’s logo was also on the banners, with the word “Justice” redacted.