In May 2026, social media users shared an image purportedly showing the new golden statue of U.S. President Donald Trump — located at Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami — covered in toilet paper and garbage.
For example, on May 11, a YouTube user posted a brief video (archived) featuring a "breaking news" meme that included a superimposed picture of Trump seemingly frowning at the sight of trash on and around the sculpture. Text in the clip read, "Miami Erupts! The Donald Trump statue in Miami woke up covered in garbage. Citizens are sending a brutal message: 'If you treat us like trash, this is where you belong.'"
Similar iterations of the meme and claim appeared on Facebook, Instagram, Threads and X. Snopes readers also emailed us to check whether the rumor was true.
(@ginnytoll/Threads)
In short, the image was fake. It was based on an authentic photo that was later edited using artificial intelligence software or other digital editing tools to add the toilet paper and garbage. No credible news media outlets published stories about vandals trashing the golden statue of Trump.
Imagn Images, a media licensing company, credited the original picture — confirmed as a match due to the same clouds, sunshine and shadows — to Tom D'Angelo of the The Palm Beach Post on April 28, 2026. The authentic photograph's caption reads, "The gold statue of Donald Trump was erected at Trump National Doral in time for this week's Cadillac Championship."
It is not clear who altered and first posted the fake image circulating online.
Snopes contacted Trump National Doral Golf Club for comment on the rumor and for official confirmation that no one had vandalized the sculpture. The club referred us to a spokesperson for the Trump Organization. We will update this article if we receive further information.
Researching the rumor
Searching Bing, DuckDuckGo, Google and Yahoo uncovered no examples of news media outlets reporting about vandals trashing Trump's golden statue. If people had draped the sculpture with toilet paper and surrounded its base with garbage, reputable publications would have covered such a story. None did.
Those searches led only to numerous links to social media posts featuring the rumor and fake image. A reverse image search located further posts, as well as D'Angelo's original picture for The Palm Beach Post.
Scanning the inauthentic version of the photo with Sightengine's AI detection tool produced a 0% likelihood of AI usage. The tool concluded, "Not likely to be AI-generated or Deepfake." Sightengine's frequently asked questions section includes a disclaimer about trusting such tools to detect AI-generated content. It reads:
While the AI media detector provides real-time insights, it should never be used as a substitute for human judgment. Different detectors can have a varying levels of accuracy. It is essential to use your own discretion when reviewing their findings.
'Don Colossus,' the golden Trump statue
In February, The New York Times reported that a group of cryptocurrency investors paid $300,000 for a sculptor to create the golden statue as a tribute to Trump, who has been a proponent of crypto. According to the article, the sculpture — dubbed "Don Colossus" — is made of bronze and finished with a thick layer of gold leaf. The statue reportedly measures 22 feet tall, or 15 feet without the 7,000-pound pedestal.
Days after the statue's May 6 dedication, the Miami Herald reported that the work's value was $450,000. That article noted Trump's spiritual adviser Mark Burns presided over the statue's unveiling. He later posted on X, in part, "Let me be clear: this is not a golden calf. We worship the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone." (The phrase "golden calf" refers to a Bible passage in Exodus 32, telling a story about God wishing to punish people for idolizing a man-made golden calf.)
For further reading, Snopes previously covered other real statues depicting Trump, including one showing the president holding the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in the "Titanic" pose and another of him holding a bitcoin — both of which have been on public display in Washington, D.C.