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A satyrical float of U.S. President Donald Trump is displayed during the Rose Monday celebration in Cologne, Germany.
A float designed as part of a pre-Lenten celebration in Germany is the ultimate symbol of the second Trump era.
On a motorized float designed and built several weeks into the Trump administration for the Rose Monday celebration before Lent in Cologne or Koln, Germany, the likeness of U.S. President Donald Trump vividly illustrates what is becoming more of his view toward the world and toward citizens of the United States.
On the float, Trump has the world perched on his middle finger, a derogatory symbol known worldwide.
With Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s mega-bully job on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, February 28, 2025, Trump’s image of giving the finger to not only Zelensky, but also the leaders of the European community who met with Zelensky one day later on March 1 in London, seems to symbolize Trump’s view of European leaders.
Zelenskyy came to the White House to sign a deal for U.S. involvement in Ukraine’s mineral industry to pave the way for an end to the three-year war. The president has inspired many by refusing to flee Kyiv when Russia launched its invasion—“I need ammunition, not a ride” – delivering nightly addresses to rally his people, and visiting his troops on the frontlines.
The Guardian ironically characterized Trump as:
a profile in courage who dodged military service in Vietnam because of alleged bone spurs and who hid in the White House during the 6 January 2021 riot. Trump has reportedly described soldiers who die in combat as suckers and losers. He was impeached for trying to strong-arm Zelenskyy in 2019 and last week called him a dictator.
Also on the float is a replica of the Statue of Liberty, a statue that is known from a poem by Emma Lazarus and placed as a plaque on the statue as a beacon of hope to those fleeing oppression:
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost (tossed) to me.
Ironically, the inspiration for the poem came from Emily Lazarus’ “involvement in aiding Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe. After seeing the conditions in which many of these people lived, she expressed her empathy and compassion through the lines of the poem.”
On the float, the Statue of Liberty has been knocked down onto her stomach no doubt in reference to Trump’s idea of sending Palestinians away from their lands as a part of the Israeli genocide of Gaza and ethnic cleansing of the West Bank as well as a symbol of Trump’s deportation of migrants, calling them “criminals,” surely meant to inflame his blindly loyal MAGA base.
The Statue of Liberty also is no doubt offended by Trump’s proposal to sell a pathway to U.S. citizenship by offering a $5 million “Gold Card” visa to investors, replacing the 35-year-old EB-5 visa for investors who “spend about $1 million on a company that employs at least 10 people.”
Lady Justice is depicted as kowtowing on her knees to the hundreds of Trump’s executive directives... except the courts are finally standing up to his pronouncements that are negatively affecting every aspect of our federal government’s ability to help its citizens.
While the anointed—but not confirmed—Trump alter ego, “Special Employee” Elon Musk, is supervising the destruction of many federal agencies and neuters those that do not fall in line with his mega-financial exploits with Telsa and Space X!!!
It’s amazing that on one small float in Germany as a part of the celebration of the Easter season, the worldwide effects of Trump and his administration are portrayed with stunning accuracy.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
On a motorized float designed and built several weeks into the Trump administration for the Rose Monday celebration before Lent in Cologne or Koln, Germany, the likeness of U.S. President Donald Trump vividly illustrates what is becoming more of his view toward the world and toward citizens of the United States.
On the float, Trump has the world perched on his middle finger, a derogatory symbol known worldwide.
With Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s mega-bully job on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, February 28, 2025, Trump’s image of giving the finger to not only Zelensky, but also the leaders of the European community who met with Zelensky one day later on March 1 in London, seems to symbolize Trump’s view of European leaders.
Zelenskyy came to the White House to sign a deal for U.S. involvement in Ukraine’s mineral industry to pave the way for an end to the three-year war. The president has inspired many by refusing to flee Kyiv when Russia launched its invasion—“I need ammunition, not a ride” – delivering nightly addresses to rally his people, and visiting his troops on the frontlines.
The Guardian ironically characterized Trump as:
a profile in courage who dodged military service in Vietnam because of alleged bone spurs and who hid in the White House during the 6 January 2021 riot. Trump has reportedly described soldiers who die in combat as suckers and losers. He was impeached for trying to strong-arm Zelenskyy in 2019 and last week called him a dictator.
Also on the float is a replica of the Statue of Liberty, a statue that is known from a poem by Emma Lazarus and placed as a plaque on the statue as a beacon of hope to those fleeing oppression:
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost (tossed) to me.
Ironically, the inspiration for the poem came from Emily Lazarus’ “involvement in aiding Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe. After seeing the conditions in which many of these people lived, she expressed her empathy and compassion through the lines of the poem.”
On the float, the Statue of Liberty has been knocked down onto her stomach no doubt in reference to Trump’s idea of sending Palestinians away from their lands as a part of the Israeli genocide of Gaza and ethnic cleansing of the West Bank as well as a symbol of Trump’s deportation of migrants, calling them “criminals,” surely meant to inflame his blindly loyal MAGA base.
The Statue of Liberty also is no doubt offended by Trump’s proposal to sell a pathway to U.S. citizenship by offering a $5 million “Gold Card” visa to investors, replacing the 35-year-old EB-5 visa for investors who “spend about $1 million on a company that employs at least 10 people.”
Lady Justice is depicted as kowtowing on her knees to the hundreds of Trump’s executive directives... except the courts are finally standing up to his pronouncements that are negatively affecting every aspect of our federal government’s ability to help its citizens.
While the anointed—but not confirmed—Trump alter ego, “Special Employee” Elon Musk, is supervising the destruction of many federal agencies and neuters those that do not fall in line with his mega-financial exploits with Telsa and Space X!!!
It’s amazing that on one small float in Germany as a part of the celebration of the Easter season, the worldwide effects of Trump and his administration are portrayed with stunning accuracy.
On a motorized float designed and built several weeks into the Trump administration for the Rose Monday celebration before Lent in Cologne or Koln, Germany, the likeness of U.S. President Donald Trump vividly illustrates what is becoming more of his view toward the world and toward citizens of the United States.
On the float, Trump has the world perched on his middle finger, a derogatory symbol known worldwide.
With Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s mega-bully job on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, February 28, 2025, Trump’s image of giving the finger to not only Zelensky, but also the leaders of the European community who met with Zelensky one day later on March 1 in London, seems to symbolize Trump’s view of European leaders.
Zelenskyy came to the White House to sign a deal for U.S. involvement in Ukraine’s mineral industry to pave the way for an end to the three-year war. The president has inspired many by refusing to flee Kyiv when Russia launched its invasion—“I need ammunition, not a ride” – delivering nightly addresses to rally his people, and visiting his troops on the frontlines.
The Guardian ironically characterized Trump as:
a profile in courage who dodged military service in Vietnam because of alleged bone spurs and who hid in the White House during the 6 January 2021 riot. Trump has reportedly described soldiers who die in combat as suckers and losers. He was impeached for trying to strong-arm Zelenskyy in 2019 and last week called him a dictator.
Also on the float is a replica of the Statue of Liberty, a statue that is known from a poem by Emma Lazarus and placed as a plaque on the statue as a beacon of hope to those fleeing oppression:
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost (tossed) to me.
Ironically, the inspiration for the poem came from Emily Lazarus’ “involvement in aiding Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe. After seeing the conditions in which many of these people lived, she expressed her empathy and compassion through the lines of the poem.”
On the float, the Statue of Liberty has been knocked down onto her stomach no doubt in reference to Trump’s idea of sending Palestinians away from their lands as a part of the Israeli genocide of Gaza and ethnic cleansing of the West Bank as well as a symbol of Trump’s deportation of migrants, calling them “criminals,” surely meant to inflame his blindly loyal MAGA base.
The Statue of Liberty also is no doubt offended by Trump’s proposal to sell a pathway to U.S. citizenship by offering a $5 million “Gold Card” visa to investors, replacing the 35-year-old EB-5 visa for investors who “spend about $1 million on a company that employs at least 10 people.”
Lady Justice is depicted as kowtowing on her knees to the hundreds of Trump’s executive directives... except the courts are finally standing up to his pronouncements that are negatively affecting every aspect of our federal government’s ability to help its citizens.
While the anointed—but not confirmed—Trump alter ego, “Special Employee” Elon Musk, is supervising the destruction of many federal agencies and neuters those that do not fall in line with his mega-financial exploits with Telsa and Space X!!!
It’s amazing that on one small float in Germany as a part of the celebration of the Easter season, the worldwide effects of Trump and his administration are portrayed with stunning accuracy.