WASHINGTON – A bronze statue mocking President Donald Trump’s friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein lasted less than 24 hours on the National Mall.
The statue depicted the duo holding hands and dancing. A plaque read: “Best Friends Forever.” The Department of the Interior said the statue did not comply with the terms of its permit, which ran from Tuesday to Sunday, but did not elaborate.
Art lovers, tourists and local residents hoping for a glimpse were stunned to find it had been carted off before dawn on Wednesday.
Hours later, some said the removal reflects an image-conscious administration that hasn’t been shy about infringing on free speech rights.
“A political criminal decided that his views are more important than the Constitution,” said Dan Meijer, a resident of Silver Spring in suburban Maryland, who was hoping for a photo of the statue.
“It’s a part of who we are as a nation,” said Lisa Kraft, a tourist from Seattle who cycled to the site with her husband. “Even if an image is offensive, it is protected under the First Amendment.”
Both had seen the statue the previous day and returned to see it again. They were disappointed.
The statue was installed on the National Mall near the reflecting pool west of the U.S. Capitol.
Epstein, a wealthy financier, pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting sex with an underage girl. He died in jail in 2019 while awaiting federal trial on charges of trafficking young women and girls as young as 14.
The statue was created by an anonymous art collective called Secret Handshake that installed two other statues on the National Mall in June.
The first, titled “Dictator Approved,” showed a golden thumbs up crushing the Statue of Liberty’s crown. At the base were quotes praising Trump from strongman leaders including Vladimir Putin of Russia and Kim Jong Un of North Korea.
A week later, the group installed a statue titled “Ugly TV.” It showed a golden eagle atop a golden television, with a plaque that quoted Trump: “In the United States of America you have the freedom to display your so-called ’art,’ no matter how ugly it is.”
For the latest installation, the group said it obtained a permit through Sept. 28 and was promised 24 hours notice if the statue was deemed inappropriate.
The statue was removed at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday without notice.
The White House referred inquiries to the Department of the Interior, which includes the Park Police and National Park Service. Officials there did not respond to questions about precisely how the statue violated the permit.
Trump has downplayed his 15-year friendship with Epstein, which has drawn renewed scrutiny since July, when the Justice Department declined to release the full files. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel said they had released all of the material they deemed appropriate.
But Trump’s political base long demanded full release of the investigative files and he had promised to do so. Congressional Republicans were infuriated. Democrats quickly piled on, joining calls for release of the Epstein files.
Trump tried to tamp down the uproar by calling the files “pretty boring.”
The statue removal comes amid broader criticism of the president’s record on censorship.
At the Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a demand last week that journalists sign a pledge to report only information that is officially vetted and authorized. Violators will lose their building access.
Last week, ABC suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after the host joked about the administration’s handling of activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Kimmel returned on Tuesday night, though many local affiliates didn’t air the show.
Trump had celebrated Kimmel’s ouster, as he had previously celebrated the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s late-night show on CBS. Both comedians routinely mocked and criticized him.
Kraft, on the other hand, criticized Trump for cheering media cancellations and the removal of the statue – an act that she and others viewed as censorship of provocative art.
“The hypocrisy of it all is staggering,” she said.
Sarah Miller, a resident of the capital who was out for a morning run, said she could see where Trump wouldn’t be happy about the reminder of his ties to Epstein.
For Miller, the statue was also a reminder of Trump’s own unsavory history, including boasts of sexual assault that surfaced during the 2016 campaign and a 2023 judgment against Trump involving allegations of a sexual assault years earlier.
“I’m very open-ended when it comes to political issues. I don’t veer one way or the other,” she said, but “it brings up his history with assault.”
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
