The 8-foot high work features a gold thumbs-up by President Bone Spurs crushing the Statue of Liberty, amid gushy - true! - comments from world dictators
Thank you Jerry ! Love how powerful public art can be. So appreciate you sharing this. Always look forward to your thoughtful, well written, important articles.
“Free Speech or Free Slop? When ‘Art’ Becomes a Political Temper Tantrum”
Let’s start with the obvious: the 8-foot “Dictator Approved” statue installed on the National Mall isn’t art—it’s a tantrum cast in fiberglass. Ironically, the very act of erecting a grotesque golden thumbs-up crushing the Statue of Liberty proves the opposite of its intended message. In true authoritarian regimes, dissenting voices don’t get sculpture permits—they get disappeared. If the creators were protesting in North Korea, they wouldn’t be setting up installations; they’d be digging latrines in a labor camp.
The creators of this piece, who remain conveniently anonymous, claim Trump’s military birthday parade evokes the imagery of North Korea and Russia. But celebrating the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary with honor, ceremony, and pride is not tyranny—it’s tradition. It’s only “authoritarian” if you believe patriotism itself is oppressive.
The parade wasn’t about Donald Trump’s ego—it was about the men and women who’ve served this country for 250 years. Yet critics once again couldn’t resist using it to peddle their recycled narrative: anything they dislike must be fascism. A military parade in Washington D.C. is suddenly a “Soviet-style” stunt—unless of course it’s hosted by a Democratic president, in which case it becomes “a stirring display of national pride.”
The statue’s plaque quotes world leaders who dared to respect Trump, as if admiration from foreign heads of state is some kind of scandal. What exactly is the point? That peace talks with Kim Jong Un or strength-based diplomacy with Putin and Orban is treasonous? That’s not art—it’s a bumper sticker with a grudge.
This isn’t protest—it’s provocation for provocation’s sake, designed not to inform, but to insult. Let’s be clear: free speech protects your right to be juvenile, performative, and dishonest. But don’t expect your pile of political slop to be treated as profound commentary just because you put it on a pedestal.
Meanwhile, the so-called “No Kings” rallies, timed to undermine a celebration of our military, only reinforce a sad truth: some people would rather march against imaginary tyranny than stand up for real sacrifice.
The “Dictator Approved” statue might stay up until Sunday—but its legacy will be about as lasting as the crowds that never showed up to boo it. What it lacks in craftsmanship, it makes up for in cowardice—unsigned, unoriginal, and unworthy of the soldiers it tries to overshadow.
If you want to protest, fine. But if your message is “Trump is a tyrant,” maybe don’t prove your freedom by showing how little you value it.
Jerry, Thanks for sharing, if possible, next time it would be nice to include some higher res images for an article that covers something like a statue, I had to navigate to another news agency to look at this status up close and see all plaques one each side of it and be able to read them. Thanks for all that you do in our community!
Thank you Jerry ! Love how powerful public art can be. So appreciate you sharing this. Always look forward to your thoughtful, well written, important articles.
“Free Speech or Free Slop? When ‘Art’ Becomes a Political Temper Tantrum”
Let’s start with the obvious: the 8-foot “Dictator Approved” statue installed on the National Mall isn’t art—it’s a tantrum cast in fiberglass. Ironically, the very act of erecting a grotesque golden thumbs-up crushing the Statue of Liberty proves the opposite of its intended message. In true authoritarian regimes, dissenting voices don’t get sculpture permits—they get disappeared. If the creators were protesting in North Korea, they wouldn’t be setting up installations; they’d be digging latrines in a labor camp.
The creators of this piece, who remain conveniently anonymous, claim Trump’s military birthday parade evokes the imagery of North Korea and Russia. But celebrating the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary with honor, ceremony, and pride is not tyranny—it’s tradition. It’s only “authoritarian” if you believe patriotism itself is oppressive.
The parade wasn’t about Donald Trump’s ego—it was about the men and women who’ve served this country for 250 years. Yet critics once again couldn’t resist using it to peddle their recycled narrative: anything they dislike must be fascism. A military parade in Washington D.C. is suddenly a “Soviet-style” stunt—unless of course it’s hosted by a Democratic president, in which case it becomes “a stirring display of national pride.”
The statue’s plaque quotes world leaders who dared to respect Trump, as if admiration from foreign heads of state is some kind of scandal. What exactly is the point? That peace talks with Kim Jong Un or strength-based diplomacy with Putin and Orban is treasonous? That’s not art—it’s a bumper sticker with a grudge.
This isn’t protest—it’s provocation for provocation’s sake, designed not to inform, but to insult. Let’s be clear: free speech protects your right to be juvenile, performative, and dishonest. But don’t expect your pile of political slop to be treated as profound commentary just because you put it on a pedestal.
Meanwhile, the so-called “No Kings” rallies, timed to undermine a celebration of our military, only reinforce a sad truth: some people would rather march against imaginary tyranny than stand up for real sacrifice.
The “Dictator Approved” statue might stay up until Sunday—but its legacy will be about as lasting as the crowds that never showed up to boo it. What it lacks in craftsmanship, it makes up for in cowardice—unsigned, unoriginal, and unworthy of the soldiers it tries to overshadow.
If you want to protest, fine. But if your message is “Trump is a tyrant,” maybe don’t prove your freedom by showing how little you value it.
Excellent trolling!
Jerry, Thanks for sharing, if possible, next time it would be nice to include some higher res images for an article that covers something like a statue, I had to navigate to another news agency to look at this status up close and see all plaques one each side of it and be able to read them. Thanks for all that you do in our community!
Thanks Alan, sorry I'm still struggling with the switchover from Wix to Substack and trying to figure out graphics, etc on the fly...will keep trying!