Another mysterious golden sculpture has appeared on the National Mall in Washington, DC, satirising US President Donald Trump. On Thursday (26 June), a gold-painted television set topped with a bald eagle was installed near the Capitol. No one has come forward to claim responsibility for or ownership of the sculpture.
According to reporting by The Washington Post, its screen plays a silent, 15-second loop of President Trump dancing awkwardly in various contexts, including at campaign rallies and during a party with disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump has come under fire for alleged suppression of the declassified Epstein files in which some have suggested he may be implicated, including the president's former confidante and adviser, Tesla founder Elon Musk, and by the Democratic House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
The sculpture installed on the National Mall on 26 June includes a plaque featuring a White House spokesperson's comment about a previous satirical sculpture installed on the same spot Photo by Joe Flood, via Flickr
The satirical piece is decorated with trails of golden ivy and emblazoned with a plaque that reads: “In the United States of America you have the freedom to display your so-called ‘art’, no matter how ugly it is. — The Trump White House, June 2025.” The quote was taken from a White House statement made in reference to Dictator Approved, another biting, anonymous sculpture installed on the same spot last week that depicted a golden thumbs-up symbol crushing the Statue of Liberty’s head. That sculpture's plinth was adorned with positive statements about Trump from Vladimir Putin, Victor Orbán, Jair Bolsonaro and Kim Jong Un.
Asked about the new golden television sculpture, the White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told the Post: “Wow, these liberal activists masquerading as ‘artists’, are dumber than I thought! I’ve tricked them into taking down their ugly sculpture and replacing it with a beautiful video of the president’s legendary dance moves that will bring joy and inspiration to all tourists traversing our National Mall.”
A sculpture, dubbed "Dictator Approved", that was previously installed in the same spot on the National Mall in Washington, DC Photo by Ron Cogswell, via Flickr
The National Park Service permit obtained to display the new sculpture describes its purpose as demonstrating “freedom of speech and artistic expression using political imagery”. The piece will remain in its current location until 29 June at 8pm. According to the Daily Beast, the permit record for the sculpture lists “Mary Harris” as the applicant, an apparent nod to the real name of famed labor leader “Mother Jones”. No contact details were provided.
The creator(s) of the two irreverent protest sculptures remain unknown. But their aesthetics are consistent with a number of guerrilla works that appeared during the general election cycle last autumn in DC, Philadelphia and Portland—including a replica of Nancy Pelosi’s desk adorned with a coiled pile of human excrement as a commentary on the 6 January 2021 insurrection.
