Anti-Trump ‘Living Statues’ Pop Up Around D.C.

The group used local performers to create the statues

Living statues were installed around Washington, D.C. on Friday morning depicting Trump in some of his most, um, recent memorable moments as president. A group of artists known as the Trump Statue Initiative is responsible for the statues, using local performers and theatrical workers to show Trump in three “acts” as they refer to them on their website. The result is something you really need to see to fully appreciate.

The first act shows Trump as “The Poser,” and immortalizes him during his “darkest hour as president.” The statue shows Black Lives Matters protesters being beaten by police near Lafayette Square — which happened in June — before Trump posed for photos in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church holding up a Bible. The second act shows one of Trump’s “most cowardly moments.” This one, called “The Bunker,” shows him hiding in his bunker (which he later said he was just inspecting) while protests erupted outside The White House. The actor is seen sitting, legs crossed, holding a teddy bear.

“Donald Trump and his Teddy Barr,” project director Bryan Buckley wrote in part on Instagram.

The third act, called “Now Go Back To School,” depicts Trump sending innocent kids back to school during a pandemic. In it, Trump can be seen holding a golf club in one hand and a lollipop in the other. He is ordering a child wearing PPE equipment to return to in-person classes.

The base of the statues had “destroyer of civil rights and liberties” written in gold.

“We wanted to create these sort of defining moments of his presidency,” Buckley told the Washingtonian, “in terms of everything that was wrong.”

The Trump Statue Initiative also said it wanted to “memorialize [Trump’s] legacy in a way our President can truly relate: Realistic heroic statues,” a nod to Trump’s desire not to have confederate soldier and other statues removed, even going so far as to say, if caught, those removing or destroying those statues could face up to ten years in jail.

“We’re hoping with this initiative, we will inspire other street performers, other artists to follow suit, whether across the country in swing states or conventions,” Buckley told The Hill. “That we really start to show these moments in statue form that show what we’ll be living with [if Trump wins reelection].”