Colorado billboard replaces ‘O’ in GOP with Soviet hammer and sickle

A new billboard in Colorado is criticizing Republicans by displaying the word “GOP,” but replacing the “O” with a Soviet-era hammer and sickle.

The billboard, located in Grand Junction, was put up by liberal blogger and author Anne Landman, local paper The Daily Sentinel reported Friday.

Landman told the newspaper that she put up the billboard after President Trump’s widely criticized press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which the president refused to criticize Russia and sided with Putin’s denials of election interference. 

There’s a new billboard along Highway 6 and 50 in Grand Junction that has a lot of people talking. https://t.co/IPCSV3EFMe

— KKCO 11 News (@KKCO11News) July 25, 2018

Trump attempted to walk back the comments one day later, saying he misspoke and that he believes Russia did interfere in the 2016 presidential election.{mosads}

“The things he did and said, trusting Putin over the conclusions of all of our own country’s intelligence agencies, blaming Americans for Russian cyber attacks on our election, making secret agreements, offering to consider handing Americans over to Putin’s intelligence agents to be interrogated, it was just unbelievable,” Landman told the Sentinel.

Landman said she initially paid $265 to put up the billboard for a week, but has since received $1,696 in donations and plans to put the sign in two other places.

MadDog PAC, a political action committee created to build opposition to Trump, created the image, Landman told The Hill.

“The billboard seems to be a lightning rod for the frustration of people with the Trump administration, and what it is doing to our country,” Landman told the Sentinel.

Andrew Weber, vice chairman of the local Mesa County Republican Party, told local NBC News affiliate KKCO that the billboard is “more humorous than anything, and more power to them.”

“I think the party is strong and more active than we’ve ever been,” he added.

— Updated 10:20 p.m.