In just four years, we’ve gone from Trump supporters erecting a gallows in front of the U.S. Capitol building to a 12-foot-tall golden Trump statue holding out a Bitcoin.
The official story is that this golden Trump statue was built by a group of cryptocurrency investors to foster discussion about our financial future as the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates again.
When the statue first appeared, many people wondered if Trump was behind it, given how obsessed he is with himself and with gold. But like the insurrection gallows, Trump can wash his hands of it and pass the buck.
According to Hichem Zaghdoudi, who spoke on behalf of the group behind the golden statue, it’s meant to be a “symbol of the intersection between modern politics and financial innovation.” He said, “As the Federal Reserve shapes economic policy, we hope this statue prompts reflection on cryptocurrency’s growing influence.”
But while it may be easy to pass it off as a harmless work of art by a group of crypto nerds, it still leaves many of us feeling off. Why does modern politics seem so bizarre?
President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hold a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House on June 5. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
‘Gold is godly’
It’s not the first time gold has been a topic of conversation in recent weeks. As we explored in Episode 53 of “Highest Power: Church + State,” Trump supporters have become obsessed with gold.
“Have you seen the upgrades to the dignity of what it looks like in the Oval Office?” Christian nationalist Pastor Shane Vaughn asked. “Donald Trump has glorified the Oval Office. … He’s made it look like Buckingham Palace.”
“We’re the greatest nation on the face of the earth. And our Oval Office should display that grandeur, that austerity,” Vaughn argued.
And why should we care about grandeur and austerity?
According to Vaughn, “Somebody said, ‘I don’t like all that gaudy gold.’ Then you’re not going to like the kingdom of God very much, where streets are even made out of it, according to people’s understanding. The Ark of the Covenant — covered in gold. The Altar of Incense — covered in gold. The Table of Shewbread — covered in gold. The Menorah — covered in gold. Because gold is godly. Gold speaks of heavenly things. And the United States of America was founded by the decree of heaven. So thank you, President Trump, and I pray that ballroom has gold toilets. I can’t wait. What a great day to be an American.”
The golden statue meme
This isn’t the first golden Trump statue we’ve seen. Earlier this year, an AI video came out of “Trump Gaza” that featured a golden Trump head balloon, a gold-lit Trump Gaza hotel, a giant golden Trump statue in a city center that looked like something straight out of the Left Behind series, a wall of mini golden Trump statues, and an outdoor shop filled with golden Trump statues.
The 2021 CPAC meeting in Orlando also featured a golden Trump statue.
“To anyone who wants to fool themselves into thinking Donald Trump’s grip over the Republican Party is coming to an end … they erected a literal golden statue of him at the party’s most influential annual conservative gathering,” journalist Dave King posted on X.
“This is what the Republican Party has reduced itself to. Worshippers of the golden Trump,” wrote legal analyst Joyce Alene.
But when people brought up comparisons to the golden calf the Israelites worshiped in Exodus 32, Tommy Zegan — who created the statue — countered, “I know the biblical definition of an idol. This is not an idol. This is a sculpture.”
Meme culture and bizarre modern politics
Whether these golden Trump statues are idols or sculptures, they’re undoubtedly part of the bizarre meme culture that has come to permeate so much of modern politics.
Memes in politics are typically visual content meant to express political ideas and garner support for the cause. In The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy, Matthew D. Taylor wrote, “Independent Charismatic leadership culture is like a marketplace, … a marketplace of ideas, where each leader is finding their style or signature idea and promoting their brands and their memes. Leaders are always looking for their angle, the message or meme that will make them iconic.”
Taylor says these memes are typically connected with prophecy and “become part of the assumed vocabulary and culture even though they might have very little grounding in the Bible or traditional Christian theology.”
Imagined Trump statue in Gaza
They’ve become especially popular among the far right. One example is the “Appeal to Heaven” flag, a white flag with an evergreen tree and the phrase “Appeal to Heaven” written on it. Originally a Revolutionary War slogan, it’s now become the mantra of the new revolution — Trump’s authoritarian Christian revolution.
Other odd examples include the Pepe the Frog meme, which has been co-opted by alt-right extremists to promote white nationalism. Tyler Robinson, who has been arrested and charged in the murder of Charlie Kirk, has been photographed creating this meme.
Given the amount of golden Trump statues in the news over the past five years, it’s apparent golden Trump statues have become another example of bizarre modern political memes.
Conversations about politics are no longer clarity seeking attempts to discover which idea or proposal is best. Now our conversations get clouded by code that is known only in the minds of those on the far right.
On last night’s episode of “Highest Power: Church + State,” professor and author Matthew Boedy said, “It’s just totally inside jokes and memes and things that only those people get.”
He told how Benny Johnson, Turning Point USA’s chief operating officer, “would go on tour with Turning Point and talk to people on how to make these and how to spread them on the internet.”
Image bearing and idolatry projecting
So what do we make about these golden statues? Why are so many people who grew up being terrified of golden calves or of such end times ideas as “the image of the beast” so willingly going along with golden statues of Trump?
On one hand, these people are simply bearing the image of their god. Their fear has driven them to worship power, which Trump gives them. So they bend the knee to Trump. And because Trump has been a bizarre pop culture icon obsessed with gold for decades, his image bearers have begun to reflect his odd obsession to the point of calling gold “godly.”
But perhaps another reason is they’re embodying what they project onto the left. For decades, we’ve been told the godless left would require everyone to bend the knee to the anti-Christ, who would be an authoritarian controlling the financial markets. And as is typical with the right, virtually every accusation is a confession.
What if all the prophecies they’ve been projecting onto the left for decades have become coded confessions through their memes?
Rick Pidcock is a 2004 graduate of Bob Jones University, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Bible. He’s a freelance writer based in South Carolina and a former Clemons Fellow with BNG. He completed a Master of Arts degree in worship from Northern Seminary. He is a stay-at-home father of five children and produces music under the artist name Provoke Wonder. Follow his blog at www.rickpidcock.com.
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