Slovenian artist unveils wooden monument to Trump as ‘provocation’

A wooden President Trump statue now stands with a fist raised in the air in Slovenia, the home country of his wife, first lady Melania Trump.

The Washington Post reported Wednesday that the nearly 25-foot-tall statue appeared on private land in a village about 20 miles northeast of the country’s capital.

The artist, who was not identified, was interviewed by a local television station and said the statue was meant to depict Trump in the style of Superman or the Statue of Liberty, the Post reported.

The unidentified artist reportedly told the local station the statue, featuring Trump with a square head and jaw, was “a provocation, because the world is full of populism.”

Wooden statue of Trump pops up in Slovenia, his wife’s home country w/@marycjordan https://t.co/mRlC138qMW

— Kevin Sullivan (@sullivank) August 28, 2019

{mosads}Igor Omerza, a former member of the Slovenian parliament and an author who has written about Melania Trump, told the Post that the Trump statue’s demeanor could be interpreted in multiple ways, such as Lady Liberty’s raised hand or as the iron fist of a “populist dictator,” the newspaper reported.

Omerza told the newspaper that the statue reflects the country’s “love-hate” relationship with Trump, who he said is “always in the news.”

“I don’t believe the young people in this village who built this are in favor of him,” Omerza said. 

The statue of the president reportedly faces a local fire station, and is placed beside a red fire hydrant at a small intersection in the village.

Statues and other portrayals of Trump erected by both supporters and critics have garnered attention around the world since he took office in early 2017.

Most recently, a wooden statue of Melania Trump was unveiled in Slovenia in July.

The statue depicted the first lady in the blue outfit she wore to her husband’s inauguration in 2017, with its left hand raised as if to wave.

Some viewed the statue as a joke, but the artist defended it, saying “the context still resonates.”