Trump-Epstein 'friendship' statue removed from National Mall one day after it appeared

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18. A statue of Trump and Epstein holding hands in D.C. is removed as fast as it appeared

POLITICS
A statue of Trump and Epstein holding hands in D.C. is removed as fast as it appeared

SEPTEMBER 24, 2025 2:14 PM ET
By Rachel Treisman


A statue depicting President Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein holding hands popped up near the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

A statue of President Trump holding hands with Jeffrey Epstein appeared briefly on D.C.'s National Mall this week, only to be removed after less than a day. … The bronze-painted installation, titled Best Friends Forever, depicts the two men smiling at each other, each with an arm and leg raised as if in mid-frolic.

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A group called The Secret Handshake claimed responsibility for the statue after it arrived on the National Mall on Tuesday morning. And while a National Park Service permit issued for the statue — obtained by NPR — allowed it to remain there until Sunday evening, eyewitness video showed U.S. Park Police hauling it onto a truck before sunrise on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for the Department of the Interior told NPR that the statue was removed "because it was not compliant with the permit issued," though did not specify how. … The Secret Handshake is accusing the Trump administration of illegally removing the statue as part of its crackdown on speech it disagrees with, on the heels of ABC's temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show under pressure from the Federal Communications Commission.

The White House did not respond to NPR's questions about the artwork's removal, but had previously criticized it.

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