A satirical statue depicting US President Donald Trump and convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein in a Titanic-inspired pose appeared on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.The statue is titled “King of the World” and shows two figures representing Trump and Epstein standing at the bow of the ship, recreating the famous scene from the 1997 film in which the characters Rose and Jack stand at the bow of the ship with outstretched arms. The statue is approximately 12 feet tall and is plated in gold.The installation was created by anonymous artists known as “The Secret Handshake.” The group has previously placed other artwork on the National Mall that references the relationship between Trump and Epstein.
The statue was installed near the US Capitol area on the National Mall and faces the Washington Monument. Several signs placed nearby display images of Trump and Epstein along with the slogan “Make America Safe Again.”A plaque attached to the statue contains satirical text referring to the romantic story of the Titanic. The inscription describes a “tragic love story” built on “luxury travel, wild parties and secret nude drawings,” drawing comparisons to the alleged affair between Trump and Epstein.
People visiting the National Mall stop to look at the statue and take pictures. This piece is one of several protest artworks by the same group that focus on Donald Trump’s past ties to Jeffrey Epstein.Trump previously said that he knew Epstein socially in Florida, but said that the dispute between them occurred in the mid-2000s. He also said he was unaware of Epstein’s criminal behavior and pedophilia. Epste is a financier convicted of sex crimes who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal trafficking charges.The White House criticized the statue. A company spokesperson noted that the installation reflected political hypocrisy and questioned why similar artworks had not been created around other figures linked to Epstein.The National Mall has often been a site for protest art and temporary installations around political and social issues.