'Dictator Approved' statue at National Mall takes aim at President Trump
1 of 4 | An 8-foot-tall installation reading "Dictator Approved" appeared on the National Mall in Washington, on Thursday. Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI | License Photo
June 20 (UPI) -- A sculpture featuring a cracked Statue of Liberty crushed under a golden "thumbs up" and emblazoned with "Dictator Approved" has appeared on the National Mall.
The 8-foot-tall art installation, an apparent criticism of President Donald Trump, has been drawing the attention of visitors at the Capitol this week. It is unclear who put it there, but it was first spotted Tuesday near the site where a bronze statue mocking rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, was placed months before.
Along with the golden marking reading "Dictator Approved," the pedestal of the statue features quotes lauding Trump from Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
"President Trump is a very bright and talented man," Putin's quote reads.
"The most respected, most feared person is Donald Trump," Orban's quote says.
The statue is permitted to appear on the National Mall, according to a spokesperson from the National Park Service. The permit application, according to the Washingtonian, said the purpose of the statue is to highlight the similarities between the United States hosting last weekend's military parade and similar parades held under autocratic regimes like North Korea, Russia and China.
"This statue will call attention to that imagery by linking our American traditions to freedom to the actual praising these types of oppressive leaders have given Donald Trump," the permit application said.
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