Naked, gold-plated and sitting on a smaller man: Why this Trump statue has appeared inside the European parliament

A giant golden statue of US President Donald Trump, depicted naked and sitting on the shoulders of a much smaller man, has gone on display inside the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. Titled "The Orange Plague - King of Injustice", the 8.5-foot sculpture was created by Danish artist Jens Galschiøt as a satirical commentary on Trump's influence on climate policy, democracy and the rules-based international order. Covered in 23-carat gold leaf, the sculpture shows Trump holding a golf club and a ball resembling the Earth in one hand, while carrying the scales of justice in the other. The installation was approved by the European Parliament and is scheduled to remain on display until Thursday. Why is Trump depicted naked? The sculpture draws inspiration from Hans Christian Andersen's famous tale The Emperor's New Clothes, in which a vain ruler believes he is wearing magnificent clothes even though he is actually naked. Galschiøt first created the sculpture in 2025 and has described it as a protest against what he considers Trump's impact on democratic values, climate policy and the international order. "Trump represents one of the greatest threats to the rule-based world order, democratic values, and our common effort to solving the climate crisis," Galschiøt said in a statement, according to The Independent. "We must address this issue and stand together against such destructive influence," he added. Speaking to CNN, Galschiøt said, "Trump is destroying all the things I believe in." He also explained the use of nudity as a reference to Andersen's story. "Dictators don't like you laughing at them," Galschiøt said. The gold covering the sculpture is also deliberate. According to the artist, it represents wealth, privilege and power. What does the statue show? The sculpture portrays Trump sitting on the back of a much smaller and apparently burdened man. The composition is intended to represent the imbalance of power and the weight placed on ordinary people. Trump is shown holding a golf club and a golf ball designed to resemble the world. In his other hand, he carries the scales of justice. The plinth beneath the sculpture carries a message attributed to the fictional "King of Injustice": "I am sitting on the back of a man. He is sinking under my burden. I will do anything to help him. Except stepping down from his back." The work is called "The Orange Plague", a reference to Trump's appearance and the artist's description of the political influence he believes the president represents. The sculpture has previously been displayed at the COP30 UN climate conference in Brazil and at the Munich Security Conference in Germany. Galschiøt plans to take it to the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Turkey, in November. Who allowed the Trump statue inside the European Parliament? The installation is not an official statement or position of the European Parliament. Danish politician and European Parliament member Per Clausen sponsored the exhibition. MEPs can organise cultural events and exhibitions inside Parliament, subject to approval by its officials. A European Parliament press service spokesperson told CNN that the exhibition was approved by the Parliament's quaestors, a cross-party group responsible for administrative matters. Each MEP is entitled to sponsor two cultural events or exhibitions during a parliamentary term in designated areas. Clausen defended the decision to display the sculpture. "If someone is so thin-skinned that they cannot tolerate this sculpture being exhibited in the European Parliament, then they have no place on the world stage," he said. "I think we need to have a discussion about power in the world and how this power is used," Clausen added. "The way Trump acts is a very, very big problem for people in Europe. I want to raise the discussion in Europe about how we can make our self-defense against Trump, and how can we make politics that is not dependent on him," he said. According to Clausen, the reaction had largely been positive, apart from "some people from the extreme right wing". "It's very important that we in parliament have this opportunity to show things that not everybody agrees with," he said. The White House had not responded to the installation. More than 1,000 miniature Trump statues The exhibition extends beyond the 8.5-foot sculpture. More than 1,000 miniature versions have been produced using 3D printers and are being distributed to visitors as "protest tokens". Galschiøt has also made the files available so people can print their own versions. The artist's decision to make the sculpture available in multiple forms reflects the broader protest nature of the project. Trump has been depicted in provocative statues before The Strasbourg installation is not the first artistic depiction of Trump to generate controversy. In 2016, the activist collective Indecline created a series of life-size nude Trump statues that were installed in public locations in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Cleveland and Los Angeles. They were titled "The Emperor Has No Balls", again drawing on Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes. Most were vandalised or destroyed. The final surviving sculpture was put up for auction in 2018 and was expected to fetch as much as $30,000. Trump was also depicted as a Buddha in a porcelain sculpture created by Chinese artist Hong Jinshi in 2025. Hong told AFP the work was initially intended as a joke, but demand increased after Trump's victory in the 2024 US presidential election. In 2024, another artist created a 43-foot-tall nude Trump sculpture near Interstate 15 outside Las Vegas. The 6,000-pound foam structure was part of the "Crooked and Obscene Tour" and was presented as a commentary on political influence and transparency. More recently, in March 2026, an anonymous collective called Secret Handshake installed a gold-painted sculpture in Washington showing Trump embracing convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The work, titled "The King Of The World", referenced the famous scene from Titanic. Another provocative Trump sculpture appeared in Switzerland in 2025. British artist Mason Storm created "Saint or Sinner", showing Trump nailed to a cross while wearing an orange prison jumpsuit. The Strasbourg sculpture, however, places Trump's naked figure inside one of Europe's most important political institutions, turning the artwork into a public display of political satire at the European Parliament.