Statue of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein holding hands placed on National Mall in front of US Capitol

A spray-painted bronze statue titled “Best Friends Forever” that depicts President Trump and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein holding hands was placed on the National Mall in front of the US Capitol early Tuesday morning (local time).

The work is the latest in a series of politically charged sculptures critical of the President that have been placed in Washington and elsewhere by an anonymous group.

A plaque at the base of the installation reads, “We celebrate the long-lasting bond between President Donald J. Trump and his ‘closest friend,’ Jeffrey Epstein.”

The relationship between the President and Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in jail in 2019, has come into sharper focus this year as both supporters and critics of the Administration have called for the full release of files related to Epstein.

The President’s friendship with Epstein began in the 1980s when they were neighbours in Florida. The men often appeared in public together and Trump, like many other prominent people, flew on Epstein’s jet on multiple occasions.

A dispute over a real estate deal in 2004 appears to have upended the relationship between the two. When Epstein was arrested in 2019 on suspicion of sex-trafficking underage girls, Mr Trump, then in his first term as President, said: “I had a falling-out with him a long time ago. I don’t think I’ve spoken to him for 15 years. I wasn’t a fan.”

In July, Mr Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal’s parent company, accusing the newspaper of libelling him after it published an article that said Mr Trump gave Epstein a drawing of a naked woman as part of a 50th-birthday gift in 2003.

As The Washington Post has previously reported, there is no public evidence of inappropriate behaviour by Mr Trump related to Epstein.

The National Park Service issued a permit for the sculpture that allows it to remain on the Mall until 8pm Sunday. The purpose for the artwork stated on the permit application is “to demonstrate freedom of speech and artistic expression using political imagery.”

The new sculpture is similar in style and content to several previous installations by an anonymous group of artists such as one in June titled “Dictator Approved” that included statements of support for Trump from authoritarian leaders Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.

The first piece of protest art by the group appeared last October when it installed a replica of former House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-California) desk that included a (fake) pile of poop on top of it.

That work paid mock tribute to the Jan. 6 rioters who stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election.

The Washington Post was alerted to the Mr Trump and Epstein statue early Tuesday morning by a text from someone claiming to be one of the artists responsible for its creation and its predecessors.

His identity has not been confirmed by The Post but he has provided information about the artworks that would only be available to someone involved in their manufacture and placement.

In a phone interview Tuesday, he said he wants to remain anonymous because he wants the artwork to speak for itself.

The new installation drew scorn from the White House.

“Liberals are free to waste their money however they see fit - but it’s not news that Epstein knew Donald Trump, because Donald Trump kicked Epstein out of his club for being a creep,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in an email.

“Democrats, the media, and the organisation that’s wasting their money on this statue knew about Epstein and his victims for years and did nothing to help them while President Trump was calling for transparency, and is now delivering on it with thousands of pages of documents.”

Last week, a statue of Mr Trump was temporarily placed on the Mall by a group apparently honouring him for his support of Bitcoin.

The artist responsible for the statues placed Tuesday of Mr Trump and Epstein said there was no connection between the Bitcoin statue and his group’s efforts.

As word about the sculpture spread Tuesday morning, visitors stopped to read the plaques and take photos. Many said the work reaffirmed their beliefs about having a right to criticise the government and its leaders.

Dan Mariano, 32, was taking his 9-month-old Yorkshire terrier, Bo, for a walk on the Mall when he came across the statue.

“It’s a very powerful message to show that rapidly disappearing freedom of speech still exists not just in the United States but here in the capital,” Mariano said.

The statue, he said, is a “reminder of what is going to be part of the president’s legacy: his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.”

District resident Alexander Howard, 48, said he was excited to see the statue.

“This epitomises exactly how our First Amendment continues to uphold in practice not just in principle,” he said.

“We’re still allowed to do that most American thing, poke fun at the most powerful people in the world - including the elected leaders and oligarchs who govern us.”

Mary Xu was out for a morning run when she stopped to see the artwork. “With all that’s going on, I’m pleasantly surprised that this is something that is still being allowed,” she said.

Not everyone, however, wanted to go on the record.

One couple said they were federal employees who had taken early retirement. They liked the statue’s message but said they didn’t want to attach their names to a quote, just in case it would jeopardise their retirement agreement.

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