A 2.6-metre-tall statue of US president Donald Trump, naked and coated in 23-karat gold leaf, has been installed inside the European parliament in Strasbourg, France.
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statue → coat → Strasbourg
Titled ‘The Orange Plague’, the sculpture by Danish artist Jens Galschiøt depicts Trump sitting on the shoulders of a frail, smaller man, with his thighs and sagging belly wrapped around the man’s head.
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thighs → title → head
Trump holds a golf club in one hand and the scales of justice in the other.
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Trump → hold → other
The work is also known as the “King of Injustice”.
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work → know → Injustice
The sculpture is a satirical critique of what Galschiøt sees as Trump’s threats to the environment, international cooperation and the rules-based world order.
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Galschiøt → see → environment
The artist has said the US president is destroying the causes and institutions he believes in, including efforts to tackle climate change.
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he → say → change
The work also questions how political power is exercised and how its consequences are borne by those with less power.
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consequences → question → power
What does the statue symbolise?
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statue → symbolise → What
The smaller man beneath Trump represents the burden imposed by the powerful on the less powerful.
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man → represent → powerful
A plaque at the base of the sculpture captures the imbalance through the words: “I am sitting on the back of a man.
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I → capture → man
He is sinking under my burden.
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He → sink → burden
I will do anything to help him.
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I → do → him
The imagery suggests a leader who claims to help others while continuing to place the weight of his power and decisions on them.
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who → suggest → them
The golf club and scales of justice add to the political satire, juxtaposing Trump’s personal image with the idea of justice.
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club → add → justice
Its gold finish is also a deliberate choice: Galschiøt has pointed to Trump’s fondness for gold, saying he believes the president might even like the sculpture.
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president → point → sculpture
Why is Trump depicted naked?
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Trump → depict → ?
Galschiøt has said the sculpture draws inspiration from Danish author Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’, in which a vain emperor parades through his city naked while those around him pretend he is wearing magnificent clothes.
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he → say → clothes
This is also not the first Trump sculpture to depict Trump naked based on a correlation with the fairy tale, a previous series of statues displayed across the US by an artist collective was also titled, ‘The Emperor Has No Balls’.
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Emperor → depict → Balls
By depicting Trump naked, Galschiøt seeks to ridicule the president and strip away the image of authority surrounding him.
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Galschiøt → depict → him
“Dictators don’t like you laughing at them,” the artist said, explaining the thinking behind the work.
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artist → like → work
Galschiøt is known for provocative political art.
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Galschiøt → know → art
His best-known works include the Pillar of Shame, a memorial to victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre that was controversially removed from a Hong Kong university in 2021.
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that → know → 2021
He has drawn a parallel between the two works, saying both concern the relationship between the powerful and the powerless.
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both → draw → powerful
Why has the statue been installed at the European Parliament?
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statue → instal → Parliament
The exhibition was sponsored by Danish politician Per Clausen, a member of the European parliament’s left-wing group, The Left.
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exhibition → sponsor → group
Members of the European Parliament are entitled to sponsor cultural events and exhibitions on parliamentary premises, subject to approval by officials.
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Members → entitle → officials
The sculpture’s installation therefore does not amount to an official endorsement of its message by the European Union.
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installation → amount → Union
Clausen said he wanted to encourage debate about how power is used around the world and how Europe can protect its interests without becoming dependent on Trump.
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Europe → say → Trump
He defended the exhibition as an opportunity to display work that not everyone might agree with.
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everyone → defend → that
Galschiøt, who had feared the application would be rejected, viewed the approval as an opportunity to bring criticism of Trump into the European Parliament.
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application → fear → Parliament
He said many Europeans regard the US president’s conduct as a serious problem, even if they recognise that he is the leader of an important ally.
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he → say → ally
Where else has ‘The Orange Plague’ been displayed?
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Plague → display → ?
The sculpture has previously been displayed at the Munich Security Conference and the COP30 United Nations climate conference in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025.
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sculpture → display → November
It was also shown at demonstrations in Copenhagen earlier in 2026 calling for Greenland to be protected from US ambitions.
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Greenland → show → ambitions
The Strasbourg installation was accompanied by 3D-printed miniature versions of the sculpture, distributed to visitors as “protest tokens”.
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installation → accompany → tokens
The artist has said he produced around 20,000 miniatures for distribution to visitors and European Parliament staff.
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he → say → visitors
The temporary exhibition in Strasbourg is expected to remain on display until Thursday.
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exhibition → expect → Thursday
Galschiøt plans to exhibit the sculpture again at the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Turkey, next month.
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Galschiøt → plan → Antalya
Trump has not publicly commented on the artwork.
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Trump → comment → artwork
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