Massive Trump Statue Unveiled Before Inauguration Day
An Ohio artist has unveiled a mammoth, $1 million statue of President-elect Donald Trump that will tour the nation ahead of his inauguration on Monday. The statue will ultimately make it way to a future Trump presidential library after the nation’s 45th, and soon-to-be 47th president leaves office.
Titled “The Patriot Statue of Donald J. Trump,” the statue depicts Trump’s iconic reaction to being shot during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when the incoming president raised his fist in defiance and shouted “fight, fight, fight!” The six-ton sculpture was forged in Zanesville, OH, by master craftsman Alan Cottrill just a week after the shooting.
Cottrill is best known for his statue of Thomas Edison, which has represented Ohio at the U.S. Capitol Building since 2016. The sculptor told the New York Post that the project came with sizable financial risk, as there would have been no refunds if Trump lost the presidential election to Vice President Kamala Harris.
The larger-than-life statue will be unveiled Saturday evening at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. before embarking on a tour of the country.
The project was commissioned by more than a dozen wealthy crypto-currency investors as a tribute to the president, who has vowed to be a friend to the industry and make a number of crypto-friendly executive orders within his first week in office. “People will be making a pilgrimage to see this thing. Trump has a fan base that I don’t think we’ve seen in a politician in a very long time,” Brock Pierce, a crypto-billionaire who helped fund the project, told the New York Post.
“We do expect President Trump to be with the statue at some point during the inauguration,” added Dustin Stockton, a conservative activist and unofficial spokesperson for the investors.
In addition to the statue, pro-cryptocurrency Trump backers hosted the inaugural “Crypto Ball” Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in downtown Washington D.C. on Friday night. As guests mingled in the ballroom and downed cocktails, they were treated to performances from a number of high-profile rappers, including surprising appearances from Snoop Dogg and Rick Ross. Both rappers had vehemently opposed Trump in the past.
Attendees included several big names in the cryptocurrency industry, including Michael Saylor, Brian Armstrong, the Winklevoss brothers and Jesse Powell, among several others.
