Demand for removal

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico demanded on 8 October 2026 that the European Parliament immediately dismantle a satirical artwork depicting US President Donald Trump. Writing on the social media platform X, Fico addressed the institution's presidency directly, asserting that official premises should not host mockery of international partners. He questioned whether parliamentary leadership would allow similar caricatures of the French president or the German federal chancellor. Fico characterized the display as evidence of institutional degradation within the European Union.

Fico sharply condemned the decision to authorize the display within the legislature.

“It is sad that the leadership of the European Parliament, in its blindness, can no longer distinguish between the legitimate right to hold a different opinion and the actions of spiritually bankrupt individuals, adventurers and lunatics.”

The installation in Strasbourg

The sculpture, titled The Orange Plague, stands 2.6 meters tall at the entrance to the Winston Churchill building in Strasbourg. The location sits directly in front of the corridor connecting plenary chambers with offices used by lawmakers and European Commission officials. Created by Danish artist Jens Galschiøt, the statue presents a nude Trump covered in 23-carat gold leaf, holding a golf club and scales of justice while balanced on the shoulders of an emaciated man. A plaque at the base carries the inscription: "I am sitting on the back of a man. He is sinking under my burden." The design reworks Galschiøt's earlier sculpture Survival of the Fattest, borrowing themes from Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Emperor's New Clothes to scrutinize environmental deregulation and economic disparity. Galschiøt stated that the work confronts Trump's environmental platform, arguing that the US leader undermines international efforts to mitigate climate disaster.

Sponsorship and parliamentary division

The statue forms part of a three-day exhibition sponsored by Danish lawmaker Per Clausen from The Left group. A cross-party administrative committee of lawmakers approved the placement before the October plenary session opened. Clausen told CNN that the installation aimed to prompt European leaders to reassess their reliance on Washington policies.

“If someone is so thin-skinned that they cannot tolerate this sculpture, then they have no place on the world stage.”

The presence of the sculpture drew criticism across multiple political groups in Strasbourg. Belgian lawmaker Barbara Bonte of Patriots for Europe described the exhibit as a disgrace, contending that politicians preaching global dignity had failed to show baseline courtesy to an allied head of state. Irish lawmaker Barry Cowen from Renew Europe registered a formal complaint with parliamentary leadership, calling the installation foolish and objectionable. German lawmaker Martin Schirdewan of The Left defended the figure, describing it as an accurate metaphor for European ties with the United States.

International exhibition tour

The Strasbourg exhibition represents the latest stop in an ongoing international tour for the sculpture. Prior to arriving at the European Parliament, the artwork appeared at demonstrations in Copenhagen, at the COP30 climate summit in Brazil in November 2025, and during the Munich Security Conference in early 2026. Organizers plan to transport the statue next to Antalya, Türkiye, for the COP31 climate conference in November 2026. While European lawmakers debated the propriety of the Strasbourg exhibit, Donald Trump had issued no public statement regarding the installation.