A bronze sculpture depicting the attempted assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in Butler, PA, last year was seen displayed in the Oval Office on Friday.
The commanding piece of symbolic art, which appeared to be at least two feet tall, was seen next to Trump’s Resolute Desk as he signed a series of executive orders in front of the press.
It depicts the now-iconic image of then-candidate Trump being hauled off stage by three Secret Service members – including the current director of the agency, Sean Curran – after would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks fired off several bullets from a nearby rooftop at Butler Farm Show Grounds on July 13.
A statue depicting the attempted assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in Butler, PA, last year was displayed in the Oval Office on Friday. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images, left and AP Photo/Alex Brandon, bottom left and right. )
LIFE-SIZE SCULPTURE OF ‘FIGHTING’ TRUMP MADE FROM NAILS UNVEILED AT ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT SITE
Trump ducked to the ground as the bullets rang out, and he was then lifted to his feet by the Secret Service agents.
As they tried to move him off stage, Trump stopped and turned to the crowd, holding his clenched in the air and famously shouting, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” as blood dripped from his ear after it was grazed by a bullet.
The image soon went viral and became a defining moment of the 2024 presidential election, portraying powerful symbolism of Trump’s resilience, bravery and fearlessness. The event galvanized Trump’s base and influenced others to get behind his campaign.
The artwork shows then-candidate Trump holding his clenched fist in the air and being hauled off stage by three Secret Service members. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The sculpture itself is rendered in dark bronze tones with a muted Old Glory flag draped vertically behind.
The White House did not say why the statue was there on the day or whether it had been presented to the president.
The work appears to be a maquette of a proposed statue in the works by artist Stan Watts of the Trump Statue Project, who are planning on creating a nine-foot replica to honor the president.
“This powerful image, embodying ‘Confidence, Strength, and Hope,’ will be immortalized in this nine-foot-tall statue,” the group’s website reads. “It symbolizes the divine intervention as well as the man and his message of unity and resilience for which America stands.”
Trump reacts as multiple shots rang out during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
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Watts has also created notable statues of founding fathers John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson as well as monuments to Martin Luther King Jr., and 9/11 firefighters raising the American flag at the World Trade Center.
Last year, Butler artist Bill Secunda revealed he had created a life-sized sculpture of Trump made out of nails to mark the failed assassination attempt.