[Guns N' Coffee]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...ives-new-york/

NEW YORK — First D.C., then Manhattan.

The satirical art group responsible for about a dozen public pieces mocking President Donald Trump in the nation’s capital over the past 20 months has now landed in New York.

The anonymous artists who call themselves the Secret Handshake left their mark in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday morning, placing a 10-foot-tall trophy, spray-painted gold and emblazoned with a #1 on its side, in Foley Square.

A large plaque below the “Iran War Participation Trophy” reads: “We hereby award President Donald J. Trump this participation trophy for his enthusiastic involvement in the Iran War. While some concern themselves with military strategy, diplomacy, or measurable outcomes, President Trump demonstrated the courage to participate regardless of the final score.”

The war in Iran, which began Feb. 28, has resulted in the deaths of 18 U.S. service members and injuries to more than 600.

Walking to catch the subway, Maren Stange, 79, stopped and chuckled as she bent to read the rest of the trophy inscription: “President Trump joins the ranks of children everywhere who received recognition for simply showing up.”

Stange, who said she had never heard of the Secret Handshake, wasn’t sure the statue would change anything. “It’s funny and it’s smart,” she said. “But what’s it going to do?”

The installation, which was first displayed in Washington this month, invites anyone to contribute their own participation trophies to the project.

Arranged around the plinth were more than three dozen mock trophies and awards. One seemed to mock Trump’s electoral history: “Lost Arizona,” read a baby blue Honorable Mention ribbon, dangling from the neck of a tennis trophy.

A trophy of a martial arts figure, leg raised in a kick, bore the printed message “Most Swollen Cankles” attached to its white base. One small gold chess award was labeled “Smallest Hands Award.”

“It’s just kind of trolling Donald Trump,” said DJ Hairston, 37, an attorney headed to the nearby criminal court. “It’s definitely funny. Because that’s what this is — this is a participation war. It’s all stupid. It’s all a farce. And this is what Donald Trump wants. He wants a big gold trophy in the middle of Manhattan.”

Michael Chrzynowski, 46, and his mother, Candace Goudey, 69, stopped to examine the trophy and the trophy spawn.

“It’s cathartic. They’re mocking him,” Goudey said. “And then you turn around and read, ‘The true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government,’” a message engraved in stone across the street, above the entranceway of the New York County Supreme Court building.

It felt, she said, like that sense of justice was lacking from the Trump administration.

“These untalented ‘artists’ should stick to their ugly ‘art’ and refrain from weighing in on foreign policy — which they clearly know nothing about, given the fact that the United States Military achieved all of its objectives during Operation Epic Fury,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in an email when the trophy first appeared in Washington on July 13.

The Secret Handshake, whose members have declined in phone interviews with The Washington Post to provide any identifying information, has previously placed installations at locations across D.C.

Earlier works by the group include a statue of Trump and Jeffrey Epstein holding hands, a mock tribute to Trump from the world’s authoritarian leaders and a reproduction of the desk of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, with a pile of fake excrement on it that ridiculed the Jan. 6, 2021, rioters who sought to overturn the 2020 election.

Many of the previous installations were at prominent spots on the National Mall, including directly in view of the Capitol’s west side. Those received a National Park Service permit for temporary display,

In Foley Square, some lawyers with briefcases, heading to one of the courthouses nearby, did a double take when they spotted the trophy, then kept walking.

“That’s a first,” said a New York court officer, who declined to give his name. “Who put that there? The Secret Handshake? I’ve never heard of them.” He shook his head and began walking to work. “Listen, he’s no worse than any other president, I tell you that much.”

A man in a red T-shirt bearing the message “Peace of Mind” squinted at the trophy, read the plaque, raised his hands and made an obscene gesture — two of them — which he said was directed at the president.

Welcome to New York.

[Xploit Machine]