Trump and Epstein statues return to National Mall
A statue of President Donald Trump holding hands with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has returned to the National Mall a week after it was removed by the NPS.
- A bronze statue depicting Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein holding hands is on display again in Washington, DC.
- The return of the statue coincides with the release of new Epstein emails.
- Previously, the National Park Service removed the statue from the National Mall due to non-compliance with permits.
A statue of President Donald Trump and late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein holding hands will be put back on display in Washington, D.C.
In September, an anonymous group called “The Secret Handshake” unveiled a 12-foot-tall artwork depicting Mr. Trump and Mr. Epstein holding hands and jumping up and down, a tongue-in-cheek reference to Friendship Month. The group says the National Park Service toppled, damaged and removed the statue without warning, days before it was scheduled to be removed. The Department of the Interior said the statue was not in compliance with permits, and the statue was eventually returned to the National Mall for a limited time.
The statue was installed in its new home on November 13, a day after House Democrats released new emails from Epstein alleging that President Trump “knew about the girls.” The group told USA TODAY in an email that the statue will remain outside the Busboys and Poets Cafe for at least several days on the 14th and V-Day. The cafe did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but posted a photo of the statue on its Instagram Story with the caption, “Where art and politics collide!”
Organizers of the statue told USA TODAY in a statement that they hope the statue will generate buzz after the email is published.
What was in Jeffrey Epstein’s recently released emails?
The House Oversight Committee released thousands of pages of documents from Epstein’s estate on November 12th. House Democrats began the day by pointing to emails from Epstein that claimed Trump “knew the girls” and that Trump spent hours with one of his victims.
The release comes as Congress reconvenes to reopen the government and a bipartisan effort to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files has gathered enough signatures.
“These emails prove nothing except that President Trump did nothing wrong,” White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said at a press conference on November 12. Trump also claimed on Truth Social, as he had previously, that the controversy was a hoax.
“Democrats are going to bring back the Jeffrey Epstein hoax because they’ll do anything they can to deflect from how bad they did with the government shutdown and so many other topics,” Trump said. “Only very bad or stupid Republicans would fall into that trap.”
Epstein and Trump friendship statue was previously toppled by the National Park Service
The Secret Handshake statue of the pair was installed on the National Mall after the controversy over Trump and Epstein has roiled the Trump administration and divided the Republican Party for months. The organization said the art installation was intended to encourage conversation about the president’s relationship with the late sex offender.
The Secret Handshake told USA TODAY they are a small group of citizens who use art and humor to encourage political discussion. The group previously erected the so-called “Dictator Approved” piece, an 8-foot-tall sculpture of a hand crushing the Statue of Liberty’s crown while making a thumbs-up gesture. And the “Gold TV Statue” multimedia installation showed footage of Trump dancing with Epstein on a gold TV.
The statues of Epstein and Trump were originally scheduled to be on display on the National Mall from Sept. 22 to the evening of Sept. 28, according to a National Park Service permit obtained by USA TODAY. However, according to The Secret Handshake, NPS representatives showed up around 5:30 a.m. on September 24, toppled the statue, and took it to a government warehouse. Footage shared by the group shows a person, a member of the NPS, telling people on the other side of the camera that the statue is too large and non-compliant before workers push it down.
Organizers said they had received no warning and called it “unbelievable.” Ultimately, after the group worked for about a week to modify the statue and obtain permits with the NPS, the statue was returned to the National Mall for a limited time.
Contributor: Jennifer Sangalang, USA TODAY Network
Kinsey Crowley is a Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Please contact KCrowley@usatodayco.com. follow her X (Twitter), blue sky and TikTok.
