Melania Trump statue set on fire in Slovenia
A statue of Melania Trump in Slovenia was torched on July 4, Reuters reported. The statue previously stood near the U.S. first lady’s hometown of Sevnica.
The bizarre-looking statue did not burn down, but the artist who commissioned it had it removed the next day after seeing the damage from the fire, according to Reuters. The tribute to Trump was blackened and disfigured.
Slovenian police are investigating the case but have not yet charged anyone with a crime.
Local artist Ales “Maxi” Zupvec carved the statue from a living tree last year using a chainsaw, and it was unveiled in early July 2019.
“We in Sevnica can only laugh and, at the same time, hold our heads in our hands over [the Trumps’] catastrophic reputation,” a 24-year-old female architecture student, identified only as Nika, told Agence France-Presse at the time. “If the monument was meant to be a parody, then the artist has been successful.”
It’s not the first Trump statue to feel the flames in Slovenia. In January, a likeness of President Trump in Moravce was burned to the ground.
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