A new gold statue of President Donald Trump has received backlash over its appearance as a type of false idol after it was unveiled on Wednesday at Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami, Florida.
Pastor Mark Burns, who hosted the dedication ceremony, defended the statue in response to critics.
“Let me say this plainly: this is not a golden calf. We worship the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone,” Burns said on X Thursday.
The golden statue drew criticism over its similarities to the golden calf in the book of Exodus in the Old Testament of the Bible. The golden calf famously enraged Moses, showing that the Israelites had turned away from God and were unfaithful in Moses’s absence.
The 22-foot-tall statue showed Trump in the same pose he made after his assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, with his fist in the air. It sat atop a white pedestal, surrounded by palm trees, and included a plaque that said, “FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!” and under it, “In honor of President Donald J. Trump.”
Trump called Burns during the event to thank him, and said, “I’ve known him a long time, he’s been with me since the beginning.”
Trump also posted a photo of the statue on Truth Social where he called it, “The Real Deal – GOLD – At Doral in Miami.”
“This statue is not about worship. It is about honor,” Burns said. “It is a celebration of life and a powerful symbol of resilience, freedom, patriotism, courage, and the will to keep fighting for America.”
The statue was also seen draped in a blue fabric.
“You may dislike President Trump. That is your choice. But you are in gross error if you think for one second that I worship this magnificent statue or anything made by human hands,” Burns said in a similar post on Instagram Saturday.
Burns is a televangelist and friends with Trump. He was endorsed by the president in 2024 during his run for Congress in South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District; however, he lost to his opponent Sheri Biggs, a nurse practitioner, in the GOP primary runoff.
