Naked Trump statues erected in U.S. cities

An artists’ collective took credit for exposing Donald Trump to unflattering scrutiny on Thursday (August 18), saying it was responsible for life-sized nude statues of the Republican presidential candidate that turned up in cities across the U.S.

Copies of the orange-tinted likeness – featuring a massive belly, small fingers and missing some genital parts – were simultaneously unveiled in downtown Manhattan’s Union Square Park and public places in four other U.S. cities.

The collective titled the work “The Emperor Has No Balls.”

“I think it’s brilliant. He needs to be brought down a peg. He thinks he’s the greatest thing on earth and this is a very accurate depiction of who he really is,” said Curtis Jensen in San Francisco.

“I think it’s very poignant. I think in this country it’s our right to speak up when things are going south and I for one think it’s genius. I’m glad they did it in New York and I’m glad they’re doing it here. It gets conversation going and dialogue going on what we need to talk about as a country. So I think it’s amazing,” said Thomas Clenny of the statue in Los Angeles.

The activist collective, a group called INDECLINE that includes artists, musicians and filmmakers, claimed ownership of the work, saying in an email that the statues were also placed in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and Cleveland. It said an artist called Ginger helped create the likeness.

“These fleeting installations represent this fleeting nightmare and in the fall, it is our wish to look back and laugh at Donald Trump’s failed and delusional quest to obtain the presidency,” INDECLINE said in a statement.

A Trump spokeswoman did not respond immediately to an email with a request for comment.