The Trump-Epstein statue is back up: 'Like a toppled Confederate general'

Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times on Oct 2, 2025

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The controversial statue of President Trump and Jeffrey Epstein holding hands has been reinstalled on the National Mall almost a week after it was taken down by the National Park Service.

“Just like a toppled Confederate general forced back onto a public square, the Donald Trump Jeffrey Epstein statue has risen from the rubble to stand gloriously on the National Mall once again,” a rep for the Secret Handshake wrote in an email. “The ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends?’ (originally titled Best Friends Forever) statue is repaired and back up for a limited time on 3rd Street just north of the U.S. Capitol.”

The statue was erected Thursday afternoon after the anonymous “satirical activist” group says it worked “nonstop on ways to get this up legally within the Parks Department’s process. We are up there with their permission and knowledge. We will see if that matters,” the rep wrote.

Carol Flaisher, a D.C.-based location manager contracted by Secret Handshake to obtain the appropriate permit for the statue, said she applied for it 48 hours ago. The rep for Secret Handshake shared an email from NPS confirming that the permit had been granted.

Another email from NPS to Secret Handshake confirms, “You have a first amendment demonstration permit. Typically, first amendment permits are allowed to continue. We are still waiting for further guidance.”

“We have no interest in pissing off the Park Service,” the Secret Handshake rep said. “We want to work within their boundaries and have wanted that from the beginning.”

Citing a height discrepancy, the National Park Service removed the 12-foot statue without notice Sept. 24 — less than 24 hours after it was erected on the National Mall. It later denied a second permit to reinstall the statue.

“We’ve been doing this for so long. I’ve never had one rejected, ever, ever, ever,” Flaisher said last week.

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