The infamous golden Donald Trump statue that graced the grounds of a convention center at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida was ruthlessly mocked on social media and compared to the idolatry of false golden idols in the Old Testament.
But the effigy of the former President—clad in star-spangled boxers carrying a star-capped magic wand in one hand and a copy of the U.S. Constitution in the other—had people buzzing once again online after its creator discussed the inspiration behind his work.
In an interview with The Good Liars, Tommy Zegan—the artist and former youth pastor who created the likeness of Trump—prattled on about his creation.
The interview went nowhere fast.
When host Josh Zelgers—who is one half of The Good Liars comedy duo—asked about the statue's inspiration, Zegan said:
"I was tired of all the naked Trump, Trump on a toilet, and I said 'I can do better than that.'"
Zelgers egged him on by telling him he could "do something a little classier."
Referring to Golden Trump, Zelgers told the "artist" his work was "very, very classy" and it had that "beach vibe" thing going on because "he's kind of retired now. He doesn't have a job anymore, he's just playing golf."
Sensing his intentions were being recognized, Zegan revealed he made the statue over two years ago.
And when a suprised Zelgers asked if he had anticipated Trump losing the election, he replied:
"No, no. It was about...he should be on vacation."
Davrams—the other half of The Good Liars—asked, "So you wake up one morning and what possesses you to do it?"
Zegan was more than happy to respond.
"Well, you go back to my junior year in high school. We went to the Nixon library at school, there was a rocking chair there."
"I said 'why is it here?' and she said 'somebody donated it to the President...'"
But before going further down the proverbial rabbit hole, Davrams gave a friendly pat on Zegan's shoulder and abruptly excused himself from further engaging with him and said, "Well, we'll see you later."
The mockery of Zegan's artistic endeavor continued on Twitter.
People got a kick out of the brief video's final moments.
According to Politico, Zegan said the golden Trump statue was made in Rosarito, Mexico of all places (no, Mexico didn’t pay for that either) and was U-Hauled to Orlando for the 2021 CPAC convention.
When the 200-pound fiberglass sculpture was compared to the golden calf idolized in the Bible's book of Exodus, Zegan disagreed with the controversial comparison.
"I know the biblical definition of an idol," he told MediaITE. "This is not an idol. This is a sculpture."
Zegan said he would sell the gilded Trump sculpture for $100,000.
In a YouTube video from last year, titled "My gift to you Donald Trump," Zegan directly addressed Trump and thanked him for "all the great stuff that you've done in the last four years for our country."
@GregAbbott_TX/X
