Overview

• The 12-foot statue, titled The Secret Handshake, depicts President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein smiling and holding hands and was placed on or near the National Mall on September 23.
• The artists declined to identify themselves and asked to be called The Secret Handshake, describing the work as a Friendship Month satire of Trump’s past association with Epstein.
• Accompanying plaques reference Friendship Month and include a quote of an alleged Trump birthday message to Epstein shown with Trump’s signature, which Trump has denied authoring.
• A White House spokesperson told TMZ that critics were free to waste their money and said Trump had expelled Epstein from his club for being a creep, framing the piece as political posturing.
• The installation follows months of renewed focus on Epstein documents, including a July DOJ memo stating no client list exists and a September House release of estate records that featured the disputed birthday entry.