Drivers along Nevada‘s interstate highway from Las Vegas to Reno this weekend were greeted with an unexpected sight: a 13-metre-tall, naked statue of former U.S. president Donald Trump.
The 6,000-pound sculpture, which was held upright by a crane on an industrial estate, caused offence among the state’s Republicans, who have branded the effigy “deplorable.”
The statue, titled Crooked and Obscene, is made from foam and rebar. Though the artists have opted to remain anonymous, they said the choice to depict Trump naked is “a bold statement on transparency, vulnerability, and the public personas of political figures.”
A press release from the artists said the giant marionette is also meant to inspire conversation about “transparency—or lack thereof—in politics, challenging viewers to think critically about political influence.”
A censored photo of ‘Crooked and Obscene,’ the naked Donald Trump statue first spotted on Interstate 15, nearby Las Vegas.
Ronda Churchill / AFP via Getty Images
According to the Nevada Republican Party, the statue is nothing short of inappropriate. The organization said it “strongly condemns” the sculpture because families driving through Las Vegas “are forced to view this offensive marionette, designed intentionally for shock value rather than meaningful dialogue.”
“President Trump and Republicans are focused on delivering results that matter — reducing inflation, securing our borders, creating jobs, and ensuring a brighter future for all Americans,” the party said in a statement. “While Democrats, especially Kamala Harris, continue to prioritise shock value over substance, President Trump is the only candidate in this race standing up for working men and women across Nevada.”
The naked Trump effigy was removed on Monday.
Clark County officials said the statue was erected on private property without a permit.
“Upon being made aware of its existence, Commissioner Kirkpatrick reached out to the property and asked that it be taken down,” read the statement, released Tuesday. “It was taken down shortly afterward.”
Clark County statement regarding the statue of Donald Trump that was put up outside Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/xm6WnOAiUE
— Clark County Nevada (@ClarkCountyNV) October 1, 2024
The artists said the statue is expected to be brought to other American cities as part of a nationwide tour. The artists told the Las Vegas TV station KTNV-TV that they plan to display the nude Trump statue in every American swing state.
Dates and other locations for the statue’s display have not been announced.
Crooked and Obscene is not the first statue to depict Trump nude. Artist Joshua “Ginger” Monroe in 2016 created several naked Trump statues that were placed in cities including New York, Los Angeles and Seattle.
The statues went viral online. Monroe said he made the sculptures not to humiliate Trump, but to generate discourse about how “thin” the former president’s skin is. The artist chose to depict Trump nude and paint veins on the statue to show Trump “without any armour – whether it’s an Armani suit [or] his lawyers around him.”
Monroe’s statues were financed by the art collective Indecline, and were erected without permits.
A nude statue of Donald Trump, created by Joshua ‘Ginger’ Monroe, photographed outside a Hillary Clinton campaign rally in Las Vegas, Nev. in October 2016.
Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
In 2018, U.K. activist Leo Murray flew a six-metre-tall, naked “Trump Baby” balloon over London while the then-president visited England. The balloon, which depicted a visibly angry, Trump-like infant holding a cellphone, was flown outside the Palace of Westminster.
The ‘Trump Baby’ balloon was flown near London’s Palace of Westminster during then-president Donald Trump’s visit to the U.K. in 2018.
David Mirzoeff/PA Images via Getty Images