Critics reacted with outrage on Thursday after a large banner featuring President Donald Trump's face was hung on the outside of the US Department of Justice.
The banner shows a large blue banner draped from the side of the department's headquarters in Washington, DC, with the slogan, "Make America Safe Again" written across the bottom.
Although the Trump administration in the past has hung up banners with the president's face on other federal buildings, including the US Department of Labor, many critics were particularly alarmed by a banner going up at the DOJ given how the department has been pursuing criminal prosecutions against his political enemies, including New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey.
"This is a stunning confirmation of the grim reality," wrote MS NOW justice and intelligence correspondent Ken Dilanian, "which is that Donald Trump has seized control of the once independent Justice Department and is using it to pursue his political objectives—including trying to punish his perceived enemies."
Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) marveled at "the irony of a twice-impeached, convicted felon putting his own picture on the wall of the Department of Justice," while adding that "President Trump is weaponizing the DOJ as his own personal law firm."
Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) objected to the banner and reminded his social media followers that "the Department of Justice is supposed to work for and represent you, not him."
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) linked the banner to the ongoing scandal of the DOJ's continued failure to release all files related to the criminal investigation of late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
"Want more evidence that the Justice Department is covering up the Epstein files to protect Epstein’s best friend Donald Trump?" wrote Lieu. "Look at this photo."
Attorney Brian Farnkoff, a former DOJ official, described the banner as "an abomination and an outrage," while acknowledging it was symbolic of how the president has taken over the department to use as a weapon against his enemies.
David Frum, staff writer at the Atlantic, also said that the symbolism being conveyed by the banner was apt.
"The Trump DOJ is a pure creature of presidential whim, retribution, and cover-up," he wrote, "so this banner has the virtue of candor at least."
Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, said that the banner showed "Trump is laughing at the idea that the Justice Department is independent of the White House."
"It is an incredible affront to our democracy to display the president’s face on one of the most sacred US judicial buildings," Gilbert added. "It’s also beyond satirical that Trump, who is at the center of numerous current court cases and was convicted of numerous felonies, is splashing his face on the exterior of the Department of Justice."
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who's expected to run for president in 2028, called the Trump DOJ banner "beyond parody," and asked, "How many dictatorship-style monuments, building name changes, and fake awards do Americans have to endure?"
