An 8.5‑foot copper sculpture, swathed in 23‑karat gold leaf, has taken up residence in the chamber of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, instantly becoming a flashpoint for political and artistic conversation.

The work, titled The Orange Plague and also known as King of Injustice, was created by Danish artist Jens Galschiøt. It depicts a naked Donald Trump perched atop the shoulders of a smaller, frail figure, clutching a golf club in one hand and the scales of justice in the other. A message on the plinth reads: 'I am sitting on the back of a man. He is sinking under my burden. I will do anything to help him. Except step down from his back.'

Galschiøt frames the piece as a critique of Trump’s impact on the environment and the rules‑based international order, likening the nakedness to the tale of the emperor’s new clothes and suggesting that dictators fear ridicule.

The installation was approved by the parliament’s quaestors and is slated to remain on view until Thursday. Visitors can acquire 3D‑printed miniature replicas as protest tokens, and the display follows earlier showings at the Munich Security Conference and the COP30 climate summit.

The statue sits alongside Galschiøt’s other politically charged works, such as the Pillar of Shame memorial to the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, reinforcing his ongoing dialogue between the powerful and the powerless.

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