Gold-coated Trump statue displayed at European Parliament

A gold-coated statue depicting U.S. President Donald Trump naked on the shoulders of a smaller man went on display in the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, France, on Tuesday, October 6. Danish artist Jens Galschiøt created the work, which was invited into the building by Danish member of the European Parliament Per Clausen. Titled The Orange Plague and also known as The King of Injustice, the sculpture stands about 2.5 metres tall. Reports describe Trump holding a golf club, while a card beside the figure carries a message about a man bearing a burden and the figure refusing to step down. The installation was placed at a junction between two Parliament buildings and was scheduled to remain there through Thursday, October 8. Galschiøt has described the work as a satirical protest against Trump’s climate policies and what the artist characterized as a U.S. assault on the green transition. The sculpture’s message and political interpretation are the artist’s; the reports do not independently assess those claims. The artist has said he intended the work to prompt debate about climate action and the international order. Clausen invited Galschiøt to exhibit the statue.