A 15-foot gold statue of President Donald Trump, nicknamed “Don Colossus,” has been erected at the Trump National Doral Miami golf course, prompting comparisons on social media to monuments honouring North Korea’s former leaders.
The statue, which shows Trump raising his fist in a pose reminiscent of his reaction to an assassination attempt in 2024, was installed a week before the PGA Tour’s Cadillac Championship. Social media users, including former NBCUniversal executive Mike Sington, noted its similarity to statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il.
Golfers and PGA Tour staff have shown reluctance to pose with the statue. Professional golfer Rickie Fowler commented, “What else would you expect,” while Maverick McNealy described it as “very tall and very gold.” A tournament photographer’s offer for staff photographs was met with a collective refusal, to which he retorted, “Ok, I didn’t know you were all so woke.”
The 3.1-ton bronze statue, covered in gold leaf, was designed by Ohio-based artist Alan Cottrill. He told The Columbus Dispatch that he had been paid $300,000 for the bronze and $60,000 for the gold leafing by $PATRIOT, the cryptocurrency group that commissioned the statue in August 2024. A payment dispute arose after $PATRIOT allegedly used the statue’s likeness to sell crypto tokens, prompting Cottrill to withhold the statue until full payment.
The White House has stated it is not involved in the crypto project or the statue. Trump’s relationship with North Korea’s current leader, Kim Jong Un, was turbulent during his first term, though the pair later reconciled, with Trump claiming they “fell in love.”
