As the country observes Presidents Day, one man has honored the occasion by producing a statue to cement Donald Trump's place in the pantheon of American leaders.
Steven Barber, a filmmaker and former combat reporter, told Newsweek that he is "on an incredibly divine path unlike anyone else on earth, to shine the light on American exceptionalism at the highest level."
The imposing statue—Seven feet and 680 pounds of gold-painted bronze atop a granite pedestal—depicts Trump holding a Make America Great Again hat, with his fist raised in the now-infamous "fight, fight, fight" stance from the July 13 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Described by Barber as "the most impressive significant presidential monument in history," the piece is currently in Colorado and due to be shipped to Trump International Golf Course West Palm Beach, Florida, in the coming days. Members of Congress and other "big folks" have journeyed to see the statue, Barber said, including Colorado Representative and MAGA advocate Lauren Boebert, and the President himself has already thanked Barber for immortalizing his likeness.
"This is absolutely incredible. The president texted me back [and] loves the monument," he told Newsweek on Sunday. "I'm on my way to building many monuments for the administration [and] could not be happier."
Barber is a longtime friend of Trump's, having met him while working as an account executive at the magazine Robb Report in the early 2000s, and has been trying to build the statue since 2016, describing the opportunity to do so as his "divine providence."
"Obviously, nobody had any interest because Trump's a hot potato, you know, there's a lot of people that dislike him," he said. "However, there's a hell of a lot more that like him now."
Barber's luck changed when he read about Anthony Constantino, CEO of custom printing company Sticker Mule, who made headlines in October for unveiling a 100-foot-wide "VOTE FOR TRUMP" sign in Amsterdam, New York City.
"When I saw that story I said, wow, this guy's a patriot. So I reached out to him."
Barber told Newsweek that Constantino, who is currently seeking permission to build an "America Loves Trump" park in the city, was immediately on board.
Newsweek has contacted Sticker Mule via email for comment.
Barber did not build the sculpture himself, which is the work of Lundeen Sculpture, a studio run by brothers George and Mark Lundeen out of Loveland, Colorado. This collaboration has been behind several other projects—including a statue of aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart in the U.S. Capitol and The Eagle has Landed sculpture, depicting the Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida—all of which are cast and modeled in a similar gilded-bronze style.
More business is likely to come from his latest homage to the Commander in Chief, Barber believes, and he is currently in discussions with Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum about contributing between 10 and 15 sculptures to Trump's National Garden of American Heroes. This garden, plans for which were abandoned under the previous administration but recently resurrected by the president, is set to feature statues of 250 historically significant figures for the country's quarter millennial anniversary next year.
Asked for his thoughts on the new administration, and whether it has lived up to his expectations, Barber said: "It's the f------ bomb, brother. It's the greatest thing."
He described Trump as "kind of a pussycat" during his first term, but said that the president's fury over the 2022 Federal Bureau of Investigation search on his Mar-a-Lago residence had brought out a more combative side of him.
He mentioned being surprised by some of the president's policies, particularly those addressing less immediately pressing matters.
"He's like, 'we're gonna get plastic straws and we're gonna get rid of the penny,'" Barber said, referencing two of the President's recent directives. "I'm thinking, Donald, come on bro."
"However, there's an agenda here. This is all scripted," he said. "They basically want to let everyone know that he's in charge."
He was similarly skeptical about the involvement of Elon Musk in the administration, telling Newsweek that the Tesla and SpaceX CEO is "better served just sending rockets to Mars." But Barber said that Trump's decision to appoint Musk to lead the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), after receiving his strong rhetorical and financial support during the campaign, reflected Trump's preference for "loyal" individuals over those more clearly qualified for a particular role.
He added that a potential rift could be created between Trump and Musk, if their political opponents continue to refer to the latter as "President Musk" in an attempt to paint the billionaire as the true power in the White House.
"I don't think he'll want to hear that too many more times," Barber said.
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Hugh Cameron is Newsweek Live News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on international politics, conflict, and ... Read more