In the days leading up to the election, mysterious monuments continue to pop up in cities across the US, poking fun at candidate Donald Trump and his supporters.
On Wednesday in Maja Park in Philadelphia, a large statue of Donald Trump was propped up. Titled “In Honor of a Lifetime of Sexual Assault”, the monument, showing Trump smiling and holding his hand in a suggestive manner, quotes from the infamous 2005 recording – later leaked in 2016 – in which Trump is heard bragging about sexually assaulting women.
The monument was quickly removed, Philly Voice reported.
On Sunday, a similar satirical statue was found in Portland, Oregon. It was beheaded that day and further damaged by a Portland city council candidate and Trump supporter, who filmed himself chipping away at the base of the statue.
Underneath the statues in Philadelphia and Portland is a plaque with Trump’s now infamous quote bragging about his status and how it allows him to sexually assault women: “I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.”
The two statues, in both Philadelphia and Portland, were placed behind, and next to, nude sculptures sanctioned by the respective cities.
The Access Hollywood tape was recorded in 2005 and published by the Washington Post in 2016, one month before that year’s election. The scandalous tape’s release shook up the election, with some Republicans withdrawing their support for Trump. .
Although Trump has never been criminally charged for sexual offenses, around 27 women have accused him of sexual assault. Last year, a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing writer E Jean Carroll in a civil suit.
The recent Philadelphia and Portland statues follow other satirical Trump-related statues, found throughout the country, days before the election.
In Washington on Monday, a tiki torch statue titled “The Donald J Trump enduring Flame” was placed a few blocks away from the White House. The statue evokes the white nationalist Unite the Right rally from 2017, in which neo-Nazis marched in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The first satirical statue, installed last Thursday also in Washington, depicts a bronze pile of feces on Nancy Pelosi’s desk and references the January 6, 2021 uprising. After Trump supporters marched on the Capitol that day, some broke into the building, attempting to overturn the 2020 election.
“This memorial honors the brave men and women who broke into the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 to loot, urinate and defecate throughout those hallowed halls in order to overturn an election,” the poop statue read.
Although it is unknown who is behind the four statues, the Washington Post reported that the National Park Service approved a request by Julia Jimenez-Pyzik to install the poop monument on the National Mall. On Tuesday, an anonymous person called the Washington Post to say he and others were behind the tiki torch and poop installations. On Wednesday, the same person called back, claiming they also were responsible for the Philadelphia and Portland statues.
“We are hoping they spark conversation about what we view are certain political issues that are relevant to voters and how they make their decision voting,” the anonymous caller told the Post.
