Protest art of Trump, Epstein holding hands appears on National Mall

Source: USA Today

Updated Sept. 23, 2025, 5:53 p.m. ET


As President Donald Trump was preparing to speak to the United Nations in New York City on Tuesday, Sept. 23, a statue of the Republican leader mysteriously appeared on the National Mall back in Washington, DC.

Unlike the gilded installation of the president unveiled last week that praised his support of cryptocurrency, this most recent statue is not of the flattering sort. The 12-foot piece depicts the president holding hands with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, each looking at the other and smiling. They are both shown balancing on one leg, in the middle of what the piece's creators describe as a prance.

In one of three plaques affixed to the work's base, which is painted to look like marble, an inscription reads: "We celebrate the long-lasting bond between President Donald J. Trump and his 'closest friend' Jeffrey Epstein."


Trump, Epstein hold hands in sculpture on National Mall 'In Honor of Friendship Month'
A 12-foot statute of President Donald Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein holding hands appeared on the National Mall on Sept. 23, 2025

A group called The Secret Handshake Project is taking credit for the surprise protest art piece, which is the third such anti-Trump installation to pop up in the capital since June. The group also erected the so-called "Dictator Approved" piece, an 8-foot-tall sculpture of a hand squashing the crown of the Statue of Liberty while making a thumbs-up gesture; and the "Gold TV statue" multimedia installation, in which a golden TV showed images of Trump dancing, including with Epstein.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/09/23/trump-epstein-protest-art-national-mall/86310895007/