Politics

/

ArcaMax

A golden Trump statue mocking his 'draft-dodging' bone spurs appears on National Mall

Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times on

Published in Political News

The anonymous satirical art activist group Secret Handshake is at it again — this time erecting a giant golden statue of a seated President Trump rubbing a bare foot. Titled "The Foot Soldier," the statue pokes fun at the president's famous bone spurs — a diagnosis he received in 1968, which led to a medical exemption during the Vietnam War.

A plaque affixed to the granite pedestal reads, "We honor the service and sacrifice of our Commander in Chief, Donald J. Trump. He's a soldier in spirit, who marched to the front lines of dodging the draft, armed with a perfect diagnosis of bone spurs. We salute a leader who knows you can't spell sacrifice without 'I,' and a warrior who reminds us that sometimes when you're called to stand up, it's best to just sit down and rest your feet."

For the first time, the statue is accompanied by an interactive element: an actor wearing a toe suit, complete with dark black toe hair and a big red welt. According to an email from Secret Handshake, the live addition is "a 6-foot draft-dodging bone spur mascot named 'Toey' — who will be on hand to celebrate Trump's unique history with military service and pay tribute to the President's feet."

Toey is almost like a Minor League Baseball mascot, the group explained in a follow-up email, "Out there to pump up the crowd and celebrate a well-heeled excuse to dodge the draft." Toey also makes a few remarks when people walk up to take a look, including, "This little piggy went to ... well, not the military, that's for sure."

Secret Handshake has created more than a dozen statues mocking Trump on the National Mall over the last few years. Since February, when the United States and Israel invaded Iran, most of their installations have focused on that war. In July, Secret Handshake created a playable video game, "Operation Epic Furious: Strait to Hell," which revolved around a variety of choices to make as the commander in chief, including whether to order a Diet Coke or bomb Iran. That same month it also built a 10-foot-tall Iran War participation trophy that later appeared in New York City and at the Minnesota State Capitol.

 

This latest piece of anti-Trump, anti-war protest art has cropped up in the wake of last week's midterm elections, which saw a wave of dissatisfaction with the war sweep the Democrats to power by a wide margin.

"Since the President is so focused on waging wars, we wanted to pay tribute to a time when he would do just about anything to avoid combat," Secret Handshake wrote. "If only he could have gotten a doctor's note on the way to invading Iran or wherever we threaten next."

"The Foot Soldier" will remain on the National Mall through Veterans Day. As will Toey, who will appear on and off during daylight hours.

_____


©2026 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus

 

Related Channels

The ACLU

ACLU

By The ACLU
Armstrong Williams

Armstrong Williams

By Armstrong Williams
Austin Bay

Austin Bay

By Austin Bay
Betsy McCaughey

Betsy McCaughey

By Betsy McCaughey
Bill Press

Bill Press

By Bill Press
Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

By Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
Cal Thomas

Cal Thomas

By Cal Thomas
Clarence Page

Clarence Page

By Clarence Page
Danny Tyree

Danny Tyree

By Danny Tyree
David Harsanyi

David Harsanyi

By David Harsanyi
Dick Polman

Dick Polman

By Dick Polman
Erick Erickson

Erick Erickson

By Erick Erickson
Froma Harrop

Froma Harrop

By Froma Harrop
Jacob Sullum

Jacob Sullum

By Jacob Sullum
Jamie Stiehm

Jamie Stiehm

By Jamie Stiehm
Jeff Robbins

Jeff Robbins

By Jeff Robbins
Jessica Johnson

Jessica Johnson

By Jessica Johnson
Jim Hightower

Jim Hightower

By Jim Hightower
Joe Conason

Joe Conason

By Joe Conason
John Stossel

John Stossel

By John Stossel
Josh Hammer

Josh Hammer

By Josh Hammer
Judge Andrew P. Napolitano

Judge Andrew Napolitano

By Judge Andrew P. Napolitano
Laura Hollis

Laura Hollis

By Laura Hollis
Marc Munroe Dion

Marc Munroe Dion

By Marc Munroe Dion
Michael Barone

Michael Barone

By Michael Barone
Mona Charen

Mona Charen

By Mona Charen
Rachel Marsden

Rachel Marsden

By Rachel Marsden
Rich Lowry

Rich Lowry

By Rich Lowry
Robert B. Reich

Robert B. Reich

By Robert B. Reich
Ruben Navarrett Jr.

Ruben Navarrett Jr

By Ruben Navarrett Jr.
Ruth Marcus

Ruth Marcus

By Ruth Marcus
S.E. Cupp

S.E. Cupp

By S.E. Cupp
Salena Zito

Salena Zito

By Salena Zito
Star Parker

Star Parker

By Star Parker
Stephen Moore

Stephen Moore

By Stephen Moore
Susan Estrich

Susan Estrich

By Susan Estrich
Ted Rall

Ted Rall

By Ted Rall
Terence P. Jeffrey

Terence P. Jeffrey

By Terence P. Jeffrey
Tim Graham

Tim Graham

By Tim Graham
Tom Purcell

Tom Purcell

By Tom Purcell
Veronique de Rugy

Veronique de Rugy

By Veronique de Rugy
Victor Joecks

Victor Joecks

By Victor Joecks
Wayne Allyn Root

Wayne Allyn Root

By Wayne Allyn Root

Comics

Monte Wolverton Jeff Koterba Joey Weatherford Jimmy Margulies Chip Bok John Branch