A statue of President Trump skipping hand-in-hand with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has returned to D.C.'s National Mall, over a week after it was abruptly removed in the pre-dawn hours.
The bronze-painted statue, originally titled Best Friends Forever but since renamed Why Can't We Be Friends?, turned heads when it appeared in front of the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 23. Its plaque celebrates "the long-lasting bond between President Donald J. Trump and his 'closest friend,' Jeffrey Epstein."
Trump has sought to downplay his friendship with the disgraced financier, who died in jail in August 2019. He maintains they had a falling out sometime before Epstein was indicted for soliciting prostitution in 2006, at least in part due to Epstein poaching employees — including young women — who worked at Trump's Mar-a-Lago spa.
Last week, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told NPR in a statement that "it's not news that Epstein knew Donald Trump, because Donald Trump kicked Epstein out of his club for being a creep."