A nude statue of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump without testicles was taken down on Thursday after causing quite the stir in New York’s Union Square.
The anarchist group INDECLINE erected the statue, titled The Emperor Has No Balls, overnight Thursday.
“It’s horrendously, tragically beautiful,” said Jeanne-Marie Patrick as she knelt down to take a picture. She came and saw the statue on her break after catching a glimpse on Facebook. Despite being disappointed that the face wasn’t quite accurate, she was in awe of it.
“It’s been a horrible week, this has been the best thing that happened to me all week,” Patrick said.
Union Square was packed with people of all ages taking selfies and laughing at his bulging belly and lumpy form. Athelea Sookia got her friend to snap a photo as she tugged on Trump’s stubby penis with a smile.
Love the new @realDonaldTrump statue in Manhattan. Making art great again! #Trump pic.twitter.com/fVhMTyrzvc
— Nico Martini (@drnicomartini) August 18, 2016
“He has no balls, he has no balls!” Sookia said. “He’s no good as a president. He hate[s] the Mexicans. Get him out, get him out.”
In an interview with the Washington Post, INDECLINE explained that they wanted humiliate Trump while nodding towards his authoritarian tendencies, as dictators often erect statues of themselves.
The group is also behind putting names of black men killed by the police on Hollywood stars and painting an anti-Trump rape mural on the US-Mexico border.
Naked Trump statues were also simultaneously unveiled in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle.
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The artist behind the designs, Ginger, said he wanted to give Trump a “constipated look”. The statues show a veiny Trump with a saggy bottom. There are also specific details, such as a Masonic ring on his finger.
The group released a video showing the making of the statue on YouTube.
The statue did not last long, as the parks department tore it down while the ebullient crowd booed. “Salaam alaikum, Donald Trump!” one onlooker shouted as the statue was loaded into the back of the van.
The NYPD watched over the dismantling. One officer told the Guardian it was unattended property and had to be taken down.
“NYC Parks stands firmly against any unpermitted erection in city parks, no matter how small,” a parks department spokesperson told Gothamist.
They left one foot and a pole sticking out in their wake.
Russian president Vladimir Putin was also depicted naked in 2014, in a painting sent by Ukrainian artist Olga Oleynik to Foreign Policy. Oleynik also gained fame by depicting Ukrainian president Victor Yanukovych.
A previous nude painting of Trump also made headway across the internet after it was banned for public display due to copyright violations over the likeness to Trump.
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio was asked what he thought of the statue during a press conference.
“That is a frightening thought,” de Blasio said. “When he’s wearing clothes I don’t like him.”
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