I'm amazed that they got the permit, shitz been up all weekend ...
A statue depicting President Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein holding hands popped up near the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday.
A statue of President Trump holding hands with Jeffrey Epstein appeared briefly on D.C.'s National Mall this week, only to be removed after less than a day.
The bronze-painted installation, titled Best Friends Forever, depicts the two men smiling at each other, each with an arm and leg raised as if in mid-frolic.
"In Honor of Friendship Month, we celebrate the long-lasting bond between President Donald J. Trump and his 'closest friend,' Jeffrey Epstein," reads the plaque, emblazoned with hands making a heart shape. September is widely recognized as friendship month.
Trump has repeatedly downplayed his relationship with Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in jail in August 2019. But it remains a sore spot for the president, as his administration faces continued calls to release the Epstein files, a trove of documents from various investigations into the disgraced financier.
A group called The Secret Handshake claimed responsibility for the statue after it arrived on the National Mall on Tuesday morning. And while a National Park Service permit issued for the statue — obtained by NPR — allowed it to remain there until Sunday evening, eyewitness video showed U.S. Park Police hauling it onto a truck before sunrise on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for the Department of the Interior told NPR that the statue was removed "because it was not compliant with the permit issued," though did not specify how.
The Secret Handshake is accusing the Trump administration of illegally removing the statue as part of its crackdown on speech it disagrees with, on the heels of ABC's temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show under pressure from the Federal Communications Commission.
The White House did not respond to NPR's questions about the artwork's removal, but had previously criticized it.
"Liberals are free to waste their money however they see fit – but it's not news that Epstein knew Donald Trump, because Donald Trump kicked Epstein out of his club for being a creep," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told NPR on Wednesday.
A Secret Handshake group member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation from the Trump administration, told NPR over email that it found out late Tuesday that "some people within the parks department aka most likely the Trump administration were trying to find ways to say we were not in compliance."
They said the group was reassured that if that were to happen, it would get 24 hours' written notice to remove the statue themselves, as required by the permit.
"Instead, they showed up in the middle of the night without notice and physically toppled the statue, broke it, and took it away," the member said. "We do not know where it is."
On Wednesday afternoon, the group member told NPR they had been allowed to see the statue, and sent NPR pictures of the figures, ripped from their pedestals and broken into pieces.
The plaque beneath the statue is titled "In Honor of Friendship Month." President Trump has long sought to distance himself from Epstein, saying their friendship ended after a falling out in the early 2000s.
Trump and Epstein ran in similar circles in Florida and New York City beginning in the 1980s. They socialized at parties and flew together on Epstein's private jet. In one 2002 interview, Trump called Epstein "a terrific guy" and referenced their shared penchant for beautiful women.
But Trump says their friendship ended before 2006, when Epstein was indicted for soliciting prostitution.
In 2019, after Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges, Trump repeatedly described himself as "not a fan" and said the two hadn't spoken since a falling out some 15 years earlier. And in July, Trump said he had banned Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida after Epstein repeatedly "stole" employees who worked at the spa there, including some young women.
Epstein's life and death remain the focus of intense public scrutiny and suspicion, particularly when it comes to allegations that his wealthy, powerful network helped facilitate and cover up his crimes. The names of several powerful figures — including Trump — have appeared in flight logs and other already-released records related to Epstein's case, though there is no public evidence that they have been involved in Epstein's offenses.
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A statue depicting President Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein holding hands popped up near the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday.
A statue of President Trump holding hands with Jeffrey Epstein appeared briefly on D.C.'s National Mall this week, only to be removed after less than a day.
The bronze-painted installation, titled Best Friends Forever, depicts the two men smiling at each other, each with an arm and leg raised as if in mid-frolic.
"In Honor of Friendship Month, we celebrate the long-lasting bond between President Donald J. Trump and his 'closest friend,' Jeffrey Epstein," reads the plaque, emblazoned with hands making a heart shape. September is widely recognized as friendship month.
Trump has repeatedly downplayed his relationship with Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in jail in August 2019. But it remains a sore spot for the president, as his administration faces continued calls to release the Epstein files, a trove of documents from various investigations into the disgraced financier.
A group called The Secret Handshake claimed responsibility for the statue after it arrived on the National Mall on Tuesday morning. And while a National Park Service permit issued for the statue — obtained by NPR — allowed it to remain there until Sunday evening, eyewitness video showed U.S. Park Police hauling it onto a truck before sunrise on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for the Department of the Interior told NPR that the statue was removed "because it was not compliant with the permit issued," though did not specify how.
The Secret Handshake is accusing the Trump administration of illegally removing the statue as part of its crackdown on speech it disagrees with, on the heels of ABC's temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show under pressure from the Federal Communications Commission.
The White House did not respond to NPR's questions about the artwork's removal, but had previously criticized it.
"Liberals are free to waste their money however they see fit – but it's not news that Epstein knew Donald Trump, because Donald Trump kicked Epstein out of his club for being a creep," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told NPR on Wednesday.
A Secret Handshake group member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation from the Trump administration, told NPR over email that it found out late Tuesday that "some people within the parks department aka most likely the Trump administration were trying to find ways to say we were not in compliance."
They said the group was reassured that if that were to happen, it would get 24 hours' written notice to remove the statue themselves, as required by the permit.
"Instead, they showed up in the middle of the night without notice and physically toppled the statue, broke it, and took it away," the member said. "We do not know where it is."
On Wednesday afternoon, the group member told NPR they had been allowed to see the statue, and sent NPR pictures of the figures, ripped from their pedestals and broken into pieces.
Trump and Epstein ran in similar circles in Florida and New York City beginning in the 1980s. They socialized at parties and flew together on Epstein's private jet. In one 2002 interview, Trump called Epstein "a terrific guy" and referenced their shared penchant for beautiful women.
But Trump says their friendship ended before 2006, when Epstein was indicted for soliciting prostitution.
In 2019, after Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges, Trump repeatedly described himself as "not a fan" and said the two hadn't spoken since a falling out some 15 years earlier. And in July, Trump said he had banned Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida after Epstein repeatedly "stole" employees who worked at the spa there, including some young women.
Epstein's life and death remain the focus of intense public scrutiny and suspicion, particularly when it comes to allegations that his wealthy, powerful network helped facilitate and cover up his crimes. The names of several powerful figures — including Trump — have appeared in flight logs and other already-released records related to Epstein's case, though there is no public evidence that they have been involved in Epstein's offenses.
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