A statue of President Trump holding Jeffrey Epstein's hand was reinstalled on Thursday afternoon, just over a week after it was removed from the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
The big picture: The Secret Handshake, the anonymous group behind the statue, created the protest artwork to highlight Epstein's previous friendship with Trump, as he faces pressure to release more files on the convicted sex offender.
- However, the National Park Service toppled the original 12-foot statue that was dismantled into smaller pieces early on Sept. 24 and only granted approval to add the statue back in its original location after multiple requests.
Driving the news: "Just like a toppled confederate general forced back onto a public square, the Donald Trump Jeffrey Epstein statue has risen from the rubble to stand gloriously on the National Mall once again," the artists said in an email announcing the protest statue's return .
- D.C.-based location manager Carol Flaisher was contracted by the Secret Handshake, which said she applied for the appropriate freedom of speech permit two days ago following several other denied attempts.
- The original statue was titled "Best Friends Forever," but once it was removed, the artists renamed the piece "Why can't we be friends?," according to the group.
Flashback: Secret Handshake reported that the statue was physically destroyed during removal, and the permit was revoked without explanation from the deputy director of the NPS.
- An Interior Department spokesperson said officials took the action one day after it was erected because "it was not compliant with the permit issued."
What they're saying: "In the end, we thought Trump was the guy INTO rebuilding old statues of racist relics, and — as a racist relic himself — assumed he would want to rebuild his own image," Secret Handshake said in Thursday's email. "Not sure what changed?"
- Secret Handshake told Axios they are hoping to have the statue up through Monday evening.
The other side: Trump has said his friendship with Epstein ended years ago.
- White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson in an email on Thursday evening reiterated her previous statement on the statue, saying: "Liberals are free to waste their money however they see fit — but it's not news that Epstein knew Donald Trump, because Donald Trump kicked Epstein out of his club for being a creep.
- "Democrats, the media, and the organization that's wasting their money on this statue knew about Epstein and his victims for years and did nothing to help them while President Trump was calling for transparency, and is now delivering on it with thousands of pages of documents."
- The National Park Service did not immediately respond to Axios' Thursday evening request for comment.
Go deeper: Trump and Epstein statue removed from National Mall
