A golden statue of Donald Trump appeared near the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Monday, November 9, just ahead of Veterans Day — but the sculpture was anything but a tribute to the commander in chief.
The installation, titled The Foot Soldier, depicts Trump sitting down, holding his right foot and examining it.
Created by the anonymous art collective The Secret Handshake, the statue takes aim at one of the most controversial episodes of Trump’s early life: the medical deferment that allowed him to avoid military service during the Vietnam War.
And the artists made sure nobody would miss the message.
The sculpture features a plaque describing Trump as “a soldier in spirit, who marched to the front lines of dodging the draft, armed with a perfect diagnosis of bone spurs.”
The inscription continues with another sarcastic tribute, saluting “a leader who knows you can’t spell sacrifice without ‘I.’”
It also praises “a warrior who reminds us that sometimes when you’re called to stand up, it’s best to just sit down and rest your feet.”
At the bottom, the artists included a quote attributed to Trump himself from 2013:
“I can be very military.”
The statue was installed near the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden and was expected to remain on display through Veterans Day on November 11.
Its timing was deliberate.
Veterans Day honors Americans who have served in the armed forces, making the holiday a pointed backdrop for a sculpture referencing Trump’s own history with the military draft.
During the Vietnam War, Trump received five draft deferments.
Four were educational deferments while he attended college. The fifth was a medical deferment associated with a diagnosis of bone spurs in his heels.
The circumstances surrounding that diagnosis have been questioned for years.
In 2018, The New York Times reported that the daughters of a podiatrist who had treated Trump believed their father had provided the diagnosis as a favor to Trump’s father, Fred Trump.
That account raised questions about the deferment, although allegations of an improper arrangement have not been established as fact.
The Secret Handshake turned that history into the centerpiece of its latest public artwork.
But the statue was not the only attraction.
According to The Washington Post, the installation was accompanied by a six-foot-tall mascot representing a giant toe, nicknamed “Toey.”
The character added another layer of satire to the display.
“Draft dodger? I hardly know her,” the mascot joked.
It also delivered a Trump-style impersonation:
“I’m the biggest toe. The hugest toe. Huge. Hugest toe. Largest toe that anyone’s ever seen.”
The White House was not amused.
Spokesperson Davis Ingle condemned the installation and attacked the artists behind it.
“Trump Derangement Syndrome is a sick and incurable disease that has rotted the brains of these Democrat activists,” Ingle said.
Rather than backing down, the collective responded with another sarcastic statement.
“We are honored that the White House has diagnosed us with Trump Derangement Syndrome, though we have checked and it seems like that does not qualify for us to skip out on the latest war he’s created.”
The group also connected its artwork to Trump’s ongoing military campaign against Iran.
The artists said they wanted to honor “a simpler time when the President would do anything in his power to avoid military action.”
Then came another jab.
“If only his prescription for bone spurs had lasted long enough for him to consider them when invading Iran.”
The statement drew an explicit contrast between Trump’s own avoidance of military service during the Vietnam era and his decisions as commander in chief.
The ongoing war in Iran has produced American military casualties and generated fierce debate over its objectives, costs and authorization.
Critics of the administration have questioned the decision to continue the conflict, while Trump has argued that military action is necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
The Secret Handshake’s latest installation places that controversy alongside Trump’s personal military history.
It is not the first time the anonymous collective has used public sculpture to mock the president.
The group has previously created installations referencing Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, as well as a satirical participation trophy connected to the Iran war.
Its latest creation follows a similar formula: a conspicuous public monument, an intentionally provocative inscription and a political controversy that attracts attention far beyond the artwork itself.
But this installation carries an additional symbolic element.
It appeared immediately before a national holiday dedicated to honoring military veterans.
The sculpture’s title, The Foot Soldier, is itself a play on words, combining the imagery of military service with the medical condition cited in Trump’s draft deferment.
And by placing the president in a seated position, carefully examining his foot, the artists made their criticism visible even before passersby could read the plaque.
The White House’s angry response has now become part of the story.
What began as a satirical statue near the National Mall has turned into another public confrontation between Trump and artists criticizing his presidency.
And with Veterans Day approaching, the installation has placed an old controversy over the president’s military history back into the national conversation.
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