A gold statue depicting President Donald Trump naked and sitting on the shoulders of a smaller man has been unveiled in the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, France.
According to Newsweek, the piece, created by Danish artist Jens Galschiot, is titled The Orange Plague and is covered in 23-carat gold leaf. Below the statue, which stands 2.6 meters (8.5 feet) tall.
The message says, "I am sitting on the back of a man. He is sinking under my burden. I will do anything to help him. Except stepping down from his back. —The King of Injustice."
During Trump's second term, the transatlantic relationship that defined part of the post-World War II global order has been tense.
Europeans have viewed the Trump administration with distrust and the US president has offered little to potentially reassure them.
Galschiot said on his website, "Trump represent one of the greatest threats to the rule based world order, democratic values and our common effort to solving the climate crisis. We must address this issue and stand together against such destructive influence."
The statue is set to remain in the European Parliament until Thursday, October 8, before heading to the COP31 UN Climate Conference in Turkey in November.
Why European parliament?
Danish Member of Parliament (MEP) Per Clausen, who is a member of the Left group, is hosting the exhibition.
“I know some people think we shouldn’t provoke Trump and therefore shouldn’t exhibit a sculpture like this,” he said in a statement “To them, I have to say two things: First, we cannot accept living in fear and self-censorship.”
“Second, if someone is so thin-skinned that they cannot handle this sculpture being exhibited in the European Parliament, then they have no business on the world stage,” he added.
The statue has been in the building since Monday morning, but it was covered by an orange cloth until it was unveiled on Tuesday afternoon.
Clausen argued that it is “absolutely perfect to exhibit it here in the European Parliament, where both fellow MEPs and several EU Commissioners will see it” because “Trump represents one of the greatest challenges to the rules-based global order.”
The statue was displayed at the COP30 UN Climate Summit in Brazil last November.
In 2026, it appeared at the Munich Security Conference in Germany; Denmark's Rebild Festival, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States; and Copenhagen's "Hands off Greenland" demonstrations.
