Political Pranks - The Art of the Prank

March 13, 2026

Going Down!

Don’t drop the soap!

A Statue of Trump and Epstein Re-enacting ‘Titanic’ Pose Appears on National Mall, by Ashley Ahn, The New York Times, March 12, 2026

The installation is the latest in a series of satirical statues created by an anonymous group of artists called the Secret Handshake.

A gold-colored statue inspired by the “Titanic” pose has appeared on the National Mall — but instead of portraying Jack supporting Rose from behind as she pretends to fly, it depicts President Trump and the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

A plaque at the statue’s base read: “The tragic love story between Jack and Rose was built on luxurious travel, raucous parties, and secret nude sketches. This monument honors the bond between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, a friendship seemingly built on luxurious travel, raucous parties and secret nude sketches.”

The statue, which appeared Tuesday and shows Mr. Trump gazing at Mr. Epstein as he held his outstretched arms, is the latest in a series of satirical statues that have appeared in Washington since October 2024, just before the presidential election. Many of the installations, including this one influenced by the movie “Titanic” and Mr. Trump’s friendship with Epstein, were created by an anonymous group of artists called The Secret Handshake. Read the whole article here.

March 2, 2026

Hangin’ in the Louvre

Pataphysics Lives On!

Inspired by Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Roi (1896), Trump gets his comeuppance in Germany. Merde!

“‘Monster’s Paradise,’ lampooning US President Donald Trump, has world premiere at Hamburg Opera,” by Ronald Blum, AP News, February 3, 2026.

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — Tobias Kratzer spoke in disbelief ahead of the world premiere of “Monster’s Paradise” by Olga Neuwirth and Elfriede Jelinek, which features a gluttonous, ravenous, insatiable President-King, lampooning U.S. President Donald Trump.

“The metaphor has become a reality,” the Hamburg State Opera artistic director said in his office Sunday morning. “I’m really hoping in — what is it, eight hours? — the piece is not completely outdated because up until now it has always gone closer and closer to not being a satire but being reality.”

Jelinek, 79 and winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Literature, collaborated with Neuwirth for the first time in two decades, the Austrian duo combining on a German-language libretto. The 57-year-old Neuwirth won the 2022 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition, three years after she became the first woman composer with a work presented at the Vienna State Opera. Read the whole article here.

February 11, 2026

Mirror Mirror on the Wall…

Devil or angel? You decide.

“Italy launches investigation as newly-restored angel painting in Rome church now resembles Giorgia Meloni,” by Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, February 3, 2026.

Rome, Italy — A painting in a Rome church has prompted an investigation following complaints that a newly-restored cherub bears a remarkable likeness to the nation’s leader, Giorgia Meloni.

The controversy surrounds restoration works carried out on a painting in the Chapel of the Holy Souls in Purgatory in the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina, central Rome.

Although the work was completed in December, side-by-side images posted to social media in recent days of the restored work and Meloni show a striking resemblance. Read the whole article here.