Cooper Lewis ‘26, Layout Director
On Sept. 23, a statue appeared in front of the U.S. Capitol building, taking many by surprise, since it appeared overnight. Titled “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” the bronze statue portrayed President Donald Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein skipping hand-in-hand. That same day, however, the statue was removed from its location. The statue, created by an organization called the Secret Handshake—who are responsible for several satirical statues of Trump around DC—was legally placed in its spot. The group received a permit from the National Park Service (NPS) to display the statue through Sept. 28, but D.C. Police tore up the statue and hauled it off in a truck on the morning of Sept. 24, less than a day after the statue was placed.
It does not take a lawyer to see how illegal the move was to remove the statue, and in doing so is blatantly going against the First Amendment—which guarantees the right to freedom of speech, assembly, and press, among other freedoms—something that Trump and his cabinet have seemingly done a lot in their mere 10 months in office. This includes but is not limited to: taking Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert off the air, attacking the press during protests, and much more. A Secret Handshake member told NPR News via email that they had not received a 24- hour notice, as specified by the permit, and they have received little to no information regarding why the statue was removed in the first place.
A spokesperson for the Department of Interior told NPR that the statue was removed because it was not “compliant with the permit issued,” but refused to specify how. The Department of Interior has not responded further. Luckily, the Secret Handshake was able to recover the broken statue, and a little over a week after it was removed the statue was replaced on its pedestal. The statue is permitted to stay on its pedestal until Oct. 6.
The statue was created and displayed amongst the ongoing struggle between the Trump administration and the American public to release the infamous “Epstein Files,” a detailed list and overview of visitors to the sex offenders island. Many, and rightfully so, believe Trump to be listed in the documents; hence, his refusal to release the forms. It is blatantly obvious Trump’s name is on the list, redacted or not; the statue was put up to poke fun at that. The situation completely and utterly ignores the First Amendment of the Constitution. The statue was there legally, it was placed legally, it had all the proper documents, and yet it was still needlessly and, in a way, dramatically torn down from its pedestal. Why? Because Trump could not take criticism and what the statue started as—a political commentary piece on the need for truth from public officials, and how most politicians have a dark underbelly. This is our President we are stuck with for the next four years; one who tears down anything that hurts his feelings.
Lyon Life 