Conservatives have decried a 43-foot-tall nude effigy of Donald Trump that was erected over the weekend on Interstate 15, near Las Vegas.
An anonymous spokesperson for the unnamed artist told Las Vegas’ News 3 the massive sculpture, called “Crooked and Obscene,” weighs 6,000 pounds and is made of foam and rebar.
Prominent MAGA influencers were quick to call out the sculpture on social media as being in poor taste. User @MJTruthUltra, a Trump supporter with 369,000 followers, said it was an example of “TDS,” or Trump Derangement Syndrome, writing on X, formerly Twitter: “These people are despicable …”
The Wrap reported that the effigy will travel the United States as part of a Crooked and Obscene Tour. It quoted the tour’s unnamed organizers, who said that portraying Trump nude was “intentional, serving as a bold statement on transparency, vulnerability, and the public personas of political figures,” and that they wanted viewers to think about “transparency—or lack thereof—in politics, challenging viewers to think critically about political influence.”
Newsweek has contacted the campaigns of Trump and Kamala Harris via email for comment.
A 43-foot-tall nude effigy of Donald Trump erected near Las Vegas, Nevada September 28, 2024. Conservatives have decried the sculpture as being in poor taste.
Ronda Churchill/AFP via Getty Images
Another prominent conservative account, @dom_lucre, with 1.5 million followers, said the sculpture was an example of the political tactics of “the left,” writing on X: “Liberals placed a 43-foot naked statue of President Donald Trump near Kamala Harris Las Vegas rally. This is the left.” His post, containing a video of the sculpture, had been viewed 10.4 million times by Tuesday morning.
Another MAGA hashtag user and self-described “constitutional hardliner” @ArmedPatriot45 wrote on X that the statue reflected a double standard in American politics, where in his view the left was allowed to criticize the right harshly but not vice versa.
“Behold, a 43-foot-tall nude Trump statue was put up on Interstate 15, near Las Vegas, just before Kamala Harris was set to hold a rally there!” @ArmedPatriot45 wrote. “If a similar statue in effigy was done of Kamala Harris, it would be plastered 24/7 on fake news, Leftists would cry foul, and the country would come to a halt, but since it’s about President Trump, it’s apparently no big deal!”
The sentiment was echoed by another MAGA influencer, @Bubblebathgirl, who wrote on X: “If a similar statue was done of Kamala Harris the country would shut down.”
The Nevada Republican Party released a statement on Monday condemning the statue as “deplorable.”
“While families drive through Las Vegas, they are forced to view this offensive marionette, designed intentionally for shock value rather than meaningful dialogue,” the statement said.
“President Trump and Republicans are focused on delivering results that matter-reducing inflation, securing our borders, creating jobs, and ensuring a brighter future for all Americans. While Democrats, especially Kamala Harris, continue to prioritize shock value over substance. President Trump is the only candidate in this race standing up for working men and women across Nevada,” it added.
Newsweek contacted the federal highway administration by email on Tuesday asking whether the artist had permission to put up the statue.
It is not the first depiction of Trump in the nude. In 2018, U.K. activist Leo Murray created a naked “Trump Baby” balloon to fly over London during Trump’s visit.
While the makers of “Crooked and Obscene” remain anonymous, and there is no evidence that it is endorsed by the Democratic Party, many conservative figures have blamed fierce Democratic rhetoric for inspiring this year’s two failed assassination attempts on Trump.
Trump, meanwhile, has used his own social media accounts to personally post or repost inflammatory artworks depicting Kamala Harris and Joe Biden.
In March, he reposted a video of a Trump-supporting pickup truck decorated with a decal on its trunk. The decal depicted Biden tied up and gagged in the bed of a pickup truck, as if the driver had abducted him.
In August, ahead of the Chicago Democratic National Convention, Trump posted an AI-generated image of Kamala Harris onstage under a hammer and sickle flag with an audience of supporters in Mao suits and the word “Chicago” lit up in red over the crowd.
