The now-infamous Trump–Epstein “friendship statue” is back on display in Washington, D.C.—just in time for the public release of explosive emails in which the late sex offender mentions the president multiple times. The towering 12-foot bronze statue of Trump, 79, holding hands with Jeffrey Epstein has reappeared outside Busboys and Poets in the U Street Corridor after being toppled by federal agents last month. The agents had removed it from the National Mall—in violation of a legal permit obtained by The Secret Handshake, the anonymous artist collective behind the piece. “Much like Trump’s name in an Epstein email dump, we have popped our head out to say an unannounced hello,” the group told The Daily Beast on Thursday morning. The statue first appeared on Sept. 23, erected directly in front of the Capitol to highlight Trump’s friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019. A plaque on the statue reads: “In Honor of Friendship Month we celebrate the long-lasting bond between President Donald J. Trump and his ‘closest friend,’ Jeffrey Epstein.”
Read it at The Daily Beast
