Photos authentically show a gold-covered statue depicting a naked U.S. President Donald Trump on display at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, in early October.
Several photos are circulating online purportedly showing a gold-covered statue depicting a naked U.S. President Donald Trump on display at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, in early October.
For example, a popular Facebook page that shared one picture of the alleged sculpture wrote (archived):
NEWS: A 2.5-meter-tall statue depicting a naked, gold-covered Donald Trump has been unveiled inside the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
The satirical sculpture, titled “Orange Plague” and also called “King of Injustice,” shows Trump sitting on the shoulders of another man while holding an enormous golf club. It is reportedly covered in 23-karat gold.
Other photographs of the artwork are also circulating on X (archived) and Instagram (archived).
In short, the photos are authentic and the statue is real. Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt created the piece and named it “The Orange Plague.” On Oct. 7, a spokesperson for the European Parliament’s press service confirmed via email that, as of this writing, it is on display at the parliament’s Winston Churchill building in Strasbourg, France. Galschiøt said via email that it is set be taken down on Oct. 8.
The sculpture in the pictures shared online matches the piece that can be seen in photos that Galschiøt and reputable news agency Reuters have published. The photographs spreading online also show no signs of being digitally edited or created. Therefore, those photos are authentic and do truly show a naked statue of Trump on display at the European Parliament.
Snopes contacted the White House for comment and for Trump’s take on Galschiøt’s work. We will update this article if we receive a response.
Why Galschiøt created the statue
On his website, Galschiøt describes “The Orange Plague” as “a satirical out-cry against Trump and the U.S. assault on the green transition and the rule-based world order.”
The artwork is 2.6 meters (approximately 8 feet, 5 inches) tall, made of copper and covered in 23 carat leaf gold, according to the sculptor. Danish author Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Emporer’s New Clothes” tale — in which an emperor parades naked in front of his subjects because he believes he is wearing the finest clothes — inspired Galschiøt to depict Trump as naked.
“The illusion — sustained by fear and flattery — endures until a child cries out, ‘He’s not wearing any clothes’ — and the emperor becomes a figure of ridicule,” Galschiøt’s website says. The page adds that the gold on the sculpture also plays on this illusion, “Like Andersen’s emperor, he [Trump] believes the gold makes him great. It merely makes his nakedness shine brighter.”
Speaking via email on Oct. 7, Galschiøt said he initially approached left-wing Danish politician and European legislator Per Clausen MEP about displaying “The Orange Plague” at the European Parliament. The sculptor added that he was “astonished” the exhibition actually happened.
Galschiøt said he thought the European Parliament was the right place to display the piece because “it fits right into the discussion about whether the superpowers should have the right to bully smaller nations, and here Europe is the key player in standing up to them.”
When asked whether the artist had heard any reaction to the sculpture from Trump or the White House, Galschiøt said he had not heard from the U.S. president but also had not “had time to look” for reactions to his work.
On Oct. 7, a spokesperson for Clausen said via email that the pair had been discussing displaying the statue at the European Parliament for a couple of years. The politician reportedly said of the sculpture:
I know some people think we shouldn’t provoke Trump and therefore shouldn’t exhibit a sculpture like this. To them, I have to say two things: First, we cannot accept living in fear and self-censorship. Second, if someone is so thin-skinned that they cannot handle this sculpture being exhibited in the European Parliament, then they have no business on the world stage.
A European Parliament press service spokesperson said the office could not comment on individual cases but that, in general, its lawmakers, known as MEPs (Members of the European Parliament), could sponsor “two cultural events or exhibitions per parliamentary term.” The spokesperson said:
The rules in place foresee that cultural events and exhibitions shall under no circumstances be offensive or of an inflammatory nature or contradictory to the values on which the Union is founded or likely to give rise to disturbances in the designated exhibition areas.
The spokesperson said all sponsored events must be approved in advance by the College of Quaestors, a political body “responsible for administrative and financial matters directly concerning Members and their working conditions.”
A spokesperson for Clausen said the politician sponsored “The Orange Plague” exhibition at the European Parliament.
Before visiting Strasbourg, the piece was previously on display at the United Nations COP30 climate conference in Brazil. According to Galschiøt’s website, the artwork is also set to be on display at the COP31 climate conference in Turkey in November.
For further reading, Snopes has previously investigated other golden Trump sculptures, and statues the Trump administration coated in gold.
