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NYC Parks Had the Perfect Response to a Rogue, Naked Trump Sculpture

The sculpture was part of anarchist collective INDECLINE's "The Emperor Has No Balls" project.

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 8.18.2016 5:40 PM

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On Thursday morning, sculptural renderings of the Republican presidential nominee—naked—showed up in public spaces around America. The five identical, nude Trump statues are the work of anarchist collective INDECLINE, part of a project they call "The Emperor Has No Balls." In addition to bringing naked Trump to parks and street corners in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Cleveland, and Seattle, the group glued one statue to the ground in New York City's Union Square.

New York's nude Trump only lasted about two hours before agents of the city's Department of Parks and Recreation removed the statue. In a statement about the incident, NYC Parks offered what cannot be an unintentionally worded guide to their policy on unauthorized public displays: "NYC Parks stands firmly against any unpermitted erection in city parks, no matter how small."

Here's how The Washington Post described the likenesses: "far from flattering. They're oddly shaped, lack one key element of the male reproductive system and dramatically play down another. The eyes scowl, the mouth pouts and the veiny, almost reptilian skin looks like it was torn off a human-size frog and dipped in bronzer."

The artist who designed and created the statues, who goes by Ginger, told the Post his background is in designing monsters for horror movies and haunted houses.

Someone put a statue of naked Trump (with giant belly + tiny peen) in NYC today and apparently it's also a Pokestop pic.twitter.com/31Sh6W8OwN

— Josh: Butler. (@JoshButler) August 18, 2016

Here's How NYers React To A Life-Size Naked Donald Trump Statue In Union Square https://t.co/vAOMoZVZmD pic.twitter.com/TTD9C977bg

— Gothamist (@Gothamist) August 18, 2016

And then there was no naked Trump statue. City parks dept sweeping remains. They say it was glued to the ground. pic.twitter.com/19Sugf6GJR

— New York City Patch (@NYC_Patch) August 18, 2016

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NEXT: California, Los Angeles County, Sued Over Their Laws and Policies on Carrying Guns

Elizabeth Nolan Brown is a senior editor at Reason.

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