A 12-foot-tall statue depicting President Donald Trump and late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein holding hands has reappeared on the National Mall, just days after its removal drew national attention.
The statue, titled “Best Friends Forever,” first appeared on September 23 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., accompanied by a plaque that read: “We celebrate the long-lasting bond between President Donald J. Trump and his ‘closest friend,’ Jeffrey Epstein.”
The statue had a permit to remain on the property until September 28, but it was hauled off only one day after it was installed. The Interior Department told The Washington Post that park officials removed the statue because it was “not compliant with the permit issued,” but did not elaborate on why it was out of compliance.
The Secret Handshake, a small anonymous group that claims to be behind the statue, previously told The Independent that the statue was broken as it was removed.
The statue was returned to the anonymous artists last Thursday and has since been restored, The Washington Post reports. It’s now back on the National Mall after D.C.-based location manager Carol Flaisher applied for another permit on behalf of the artists, according to The Washington Post. That new permit from the National Park Service reportedly went into effect at noon on Thursday.
The statue appeared as the Trump administration faced ongoing calls for greater transparency on the investigation into Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while in custody on suspicion he trafficked and abused young girls. The issue came to a head over the summer after the Trump administration said there would be no further disclosures on the case.
Since then, lawmakers have subpoenaed and released some documents from Epstein’s estate. Justice Department officials also released transcripts from a July interview with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s ex-girlfriend who is serving a 20-year sentence for her role in helping him abuse girls.
Trump was once friends with Epstein, and called him a “terrific guy” in 2002. Epstein also once said he was Trump's “closest friend,” according to audio recordings obtained by The Daily Beast last year.
Their friendship dissolved around the mid-2000s, and Trump has said that he banned Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago estate around that time. Trump has never been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
When reached for comment, the White House reiterated that Trump barred Epstein from his club.
“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,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said.
“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,” she added.
The Independent has contacted the National Park Service for comment.
