The statue of Melania Trump at her home country, Slovenia, was set on fire by an unknown arsonist over the weekend. The charred statue had been taken down and the police launched an investigation on the incident.
The wooden statue of the First Lady of the United States was commissioned by Berlin-based American artist Brad Downey. Apparently, it was targeted around the same time when President Donald Trump delivered her Independence Day speech where he threatened 10-year prison time to those who vandalize or tear down historical monuments.
Downey told Reuters that he wanted to know who targeted the statue and why. He added that he would like to talk to those responsible, if found, for a film that he is preparing for his upcoming exhibition in September in Slovenia. The White House or the Office of the First Lady has yet to respond to the incident.
The artist explained that his intention of erecting Melania Trump's statue in her hometown was to open a dialogue about the political situation in the US, particularly immigration. Mrs. Trump herself was an immigrant. She grew up in Slovenia when the country was still part of Yugoslavia. She came to the US as an immigrant in the 1990s and worked as a model.
Melania's life-size statue was carved out of a tree trunk on the outskirts of Sevnica, her hometown in central Slovenia. But it has a rough likeness to FLOTUS.
The image can only be identified as Melania Trump based on the dress. The sculpture depicted the former model dressed in a blue coat similar to the one she wore to Donald Trump's inauguration in January 2017. It also has a club-like hand that looked like she was waving to the crowd.
The statue received mixed reviews when it was unveiled in July 2019. Some residents of Sevnica called it a "disgrace." Others said it looked more like Smurfette from the Smurfs movie than Melania Trump.
According to Reuters, Sevnica has become a tourist spot since Trump got elected and Melania became the First Lady. Many tourists visited the town to get a glimpse of the former model's early years. Residents have created Melania and Donald Trump-related merchandise such as slippers, cakes, and Trump-like burgers.
In August 2019, a wooden statue of Trump was also constructed in Slovenia's city of Moravce. It also received divided opinions from the residents. The statue was also burnt to the ground early this year.
