WASHINGTON ― A second mysterious and satirical monument has appeared in the nation’s capital, this time a “tribute” to former President Donald Trump for referring to the white supremacists who marched in a 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, as “very fine people.”
“The Donald J. Trump Enduring Flame” popped up early Monday a few blocks from the White House. Mounted on a faux cement block, it depicts a large bronze hand holding up a flaming tiki torch, a nod to the torches carried by the thousands of neo-Nazis and right-wing extremists who terrorized the Virginia town in a “Unite the Right” rally.
A plaque along the base reads:
This monument pays tribute to President Donald Trump and the “very fine people” he boldly stood to defend when they marched in Charlottesville, Virginia. While many have called them white supremacists and neo-nazis, President Trump’s voice rang out above the rest to remind all that they were “treated absolutely unfairly.” This monument stands as an everlasting reminder of that bold proclamation.
It’s the second such monument to magically appear in the city. Last week, a memorial popped up on Capitol Hill to “honor” Trump and the insurrectionists of Jan. 6, 2021, with a giant bronze poop.
The installations look like official national monuments, with bronze and cement components. Up close, though, they are actually very light and appear to be made of foam or cloth-covered wood.
Both monuments are jabs at Trump and his ties to extremists, ahead of next week’s uncomfortably close election between Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
The 2017 rally in Charlottesville descended into hours of violence and chaos, as thousands of white supremacists and armed militia groups faced off with counterprotesters. Three people died, and dozens were treated for injuries. Several attendees were later indicted on felony charges for carrying flaming torches with the intent to intimidate.
Then-President Trump, who has fanned white nationalism and far-right extremism for years, responded to the violence by claiming there were “very fine people” on both sides.
Trump has since pushed back on this characterization of events, claiming he wasn’t talking specifically about white supremacists when he mentioned “very fine people.” It’s not clear, however, which attendees of the white supremacist rally he was describing as “very fine.”
A security guard at the turd monument told HuffPost last week that a group called Civic Crafting put it up. This group has secured permits from the National Park Service to mount its installations.
“I don’t know who put it here or who’s in charge,” a security guard by the tiki torch monument told HuffPost on Monday morning. “It was here when I first got here at like 7, 7:30.”
A passing Treasury Department staffer did a double take as she walked by the tiki torch installation, and came back to look at it again.
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“I love it,” she said, snapping a photo before heading off.