22-Foot Golden Trump Statue Unveiled at Doral

A 22-foot golden statue depicting President Donald Trump raising his fist was unveiled Wednesday at Trump National Doral, his golf course in Miami, during a dedication ceremony led by evangelical pastor Mark Burns.

The sculpture, named Don Colossus, shows Trump in the gesture he made after surviving an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, where he sustained an ear injury. The bronze figure, coated in gold leaf and standing 15 feet tall atop a seven-foot pedestal, was financed by cryptocurrency investors associated with the PATRIOT memecoin project. Sculptor Alan Cottrill said he completed the work for around $300,000 but held it in storage for months awaiting full payment, which arrived two weeks before installation. He was not invited to the event.

Burns, a longtime Trump supporter, addressed about a dozen attendees as the statue was revealed from beneath white and blue fabric resembling a toga. Evangelical leaders gathered to pray over the monument amid palm trees. Burns emphasized the statue honored Trump's resilience and survival of multiple assassination attempts. "This is not a golden calf," he said on social media that night. "This statue is not...