WASHINGTON — A 10-foot “participation trophy” magically appeared on the National Mall early Monday to satirically honor President Donald Trump for unilaterally starting a war in Iran with no strategy, no stated goals and no plan on how to get the United States out of it.
“We hereby award President Donald J. Trump this participation trophy for his enthusiastic involvement in the Iran War,” reads a plaque on the faux monument, which was installed in the wee hours near the MLK Memorial Bookstore. “While some concern themselves with military strategy, diplomacy, or measurable outcomes, President Trump demonstrated the courage to participate regardless of the final score.”
The text continues, “As recipient of this prestigious award, President Trump joins the ranks of children everywhere who receive recognition for simply showing up. We join you in celebrating this remarkable achievement.”
The massive gold trophy, which looks like an authentic national monument, is the work of anonymous artists who have been installing fake statues around D.C. for years, all of which mock Trump over his various scandals and corrupt actions.
Previous installations by this group, which calls itself The Secret Handshake, include a giant gold toilet in front of the Lincoln Memorial, a 12-foot tall statue of Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein depicted as lovers, a giant bronze turd “honoring” Trump, and a massive reproduction of a creepy birthday message allegedly sent by Trump to Epstein.
The faux monument was put up as the Iran War remains deeply unpopular with the American public, and as Trump’s popularity has tanked along with it. He’s repeatedly claimed for months that U.S. military operations are nearly done, only to launch another round of attacks. In the meantime, the House and Senate have separately rebuked Trump in bipartisan votes for carrying on with the war without congressional approval.
“The Trophy” will be up for the next several days, the group told HuffPost in an email. It also explained its thinking behind the structure.
“The trophy is believed to be the largest ever awarded to a sitting President, and is an attempt to de-escalate the conflict through positive reinforcement,” said the group. “Following Trump’s remarks that he ‘no longer feels an obligation to think purely of peace’ after not winning a prize, we hope this very large award will fit alongside the FIFA Peace Prize and seized Nobel Prize in the President’s growing collection.”
The installation also invites passersby to drop off their own trophies and medals at the base of the monument so Trump can claim them as his own, another jab at the president for frequently taking credit for things he had little or nothing to do with.
“No accomplishment is too distant, too small, or too unearned to bestow on President Trump,” reads a second plaque near the monument. It encourages people to share photos of their trophy tributes to Trump on social media with the hashtag, #TrophiesForTrump.
In its email to HuffPost, the group offered a more serious reason for installing its latest monument: “Together, we hope that if enough trophies are donated he will be perceived as a winner and not feel the need to bomb other countries.”
