**Who Put It There** A satirical statue depicting President Donald Trump and the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was erected in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on the National Mall in February 2026. The temporary statue, titled "King of the World" and a play on a scene from the film *Titanic*, turned the federal showcase into a site of open mockery aimed at the people and institutions that dominate public life. The installation was documented by Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images, and NPR's article on the statue was published on April 1, 2026. The piece attracted large crowds and was widely shared on social media, showing how quickly a direct visual attack on power can travel when it lands in the middle of the capital’s ceremonial space. **The National Mall as a Propaganda Battlefield** NPR described the installation as part of a "propaganda war" on the National Mall between the Trump administration and its critics. The article said the president's image is displayed on federal buildings while satirical statues and posters are placed below. That is the hierarchy laid bare: the state and its symbols above, the dissenting images below, all of it staged in the same public corridor of power. The statue’s placement in front of the U.S. Capitol made the message impossible to miss. It was not a private gallery stunt or a sanitized museum gesture. It was a temporary public installation in February 2026, set directly in the shadow of federal authority and aimed at the figures and structures that dominate the political landscape. The title, "King of the World," borrowed from a scene in *Titanic*, sharpened the satire by putting Trump and Epstein into a frame of spectacle and collapse. The base reporting identifies the statue as temporary, satirical, and widely circulated online, with large crowds gathering around it on the National Mall. **What the Coverage Shows** NPR’s framing makes clear that the National Mall is not just a tourist strip but a contested space where official imagery and anti-authority satire collide. The Trump administration’s image on federal buildings sits above the posters and statues below, a neat little diagram of who gets elevated and who gets pushed into resistance. The installation was in Washington, D.C., on the National Mall in February 2026, and the article documenting it was published on April 1, 2026. The statue was titled "King of the World," and it depicted President Donald Trump and the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Those are the facts the public was given, along with the sight of large crowds and the speed with which the image spread across social media. **What Happened** A satirical statue depicting President Donald Trump and the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was erected in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on the National Mall in February 2026. The temporary statue was titled "King of the World" and referenced a scene from the film *Titanic*. The installation attracted large crowds and was widely shared on social media. NPR described the scene as part of a "propaganda war" on the National Mall between the Trump administration and its critics. The president's image is displayed on federal buildings while satirical statues and posters are placed below.
