Controversial Trump-Epstein Statue Returns to Washington's National Mall After Initial Removal

The statue was damaged during its dismantling on September 25 but has since been restored.

A statue portraying Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein holding hands has reappeared in Washington following its removal by authorities the previous week.

The bronze-painted artwork, initially titled "Best Friends Forever" but later renamed "Why Can't We Be Friends?", was reinstalled Thursday on the National Mall, within walking distance of the Capitol building.

An anonymous collective of satirical installation artists calling themselves "The Secret Handshake" stated they had repositioned the statue at its original location after securing permission from the National Park Service (NPS).

"Just like a toppled Confederate general forced back onto a public square, the Donald Trump (and) Jeffrey Epstein statue has risen from the rubble to stand gloriously on the National Mall once again," a spokesperson for the group informed The Los Angeles Times.

The statue, standing over three meters tall (approximately 10 feet), was first installed on September 24, but NPS officials removed it within 24 hours.

According to CNN, the Department of the Interior, which oversees the park service, explained the statue was removed "because it was not compliant with the permit issued."

CNN reported that a temporary permit for the statue's reinstallation was approved on September 30, just before the US federal government shutdown began.

Though damaged during its dismantling on September 25, the statue has been fully restored.

The Epstein files, named after the New York financier who died in prison in 2019 before his federal trial for sex crimes, have become central to controversy surrounding Trump's second presidency, as Trump was a longtime associate of Epstein.

In July, the Trump administration announced they had found no new evidence warranting the release of additional documents or launching a new investigation into the matter.

Epstein died while awaiting trial for alleged sex trafficking of minors who were recruited to provide him with sexual massages.

Officials ruled his death a suicide, though this has generated numerous conspiracy theories among Trump supporters suggesting he was murdered to prevent him from implicating high-profile individuals.