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BumRushDaShow

(168,663 posts)
Thu May 15, 2025, 04:10 PM May 2025

Trump banner on gov building sparks backlash: 'Welcome to North America's North Korea'

Source: Raw Story

May 15, 2025 2:33PM ET


A massive banner of President Donald Trump is now hanging from the outside of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s building in Washington, D.C., opposite a banner of President Abraham Lincoln. Several critics are suggesting the hanging is fascist or authoritarian, with some saying it is giving off North Korea vibes.

“Looming down from the pillared front of the neo-classical facade is an enormous, brooding picture of President Donald Trump, adapted from his official presidential portrait,” The Independent reported. “The picture of Trump is reminiscent of portraits of leaders hanging from public buildings, often seen in dictatorships, monarchies, and in descriptions in George Orwell’s 1984 of ‘Big Brother.'”

Progressive nonprofit People For the American Way posted a photo of the USDA building with the Trump banner, also saying it is “echoing authoritarian dictatorships.” “This is deeply fascist,” observed Democracy advocate, Army combat vet, and podcaster Fred Wellman. “Trump is spending $92 million on a birthday military parade and plastering his face on the sides of government buildings. Washington, DC is becoming Pyongyang, North Korea,” podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen noted.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins posted photos of the banners being installed, while suggesting that President Trump’s policies have been good for farmers — a controversial opinion given his tariff and trade wars, and program cuts. The Bulwark’s Tim Miller wrote: “Its interesting that these freedom loving MAGA alpha males want to institute this deeply creepy 3rd world culture where we have a national daddy that must be obeyed.” Political analyst Rachel Bitecofer warned Trump is “going to go full Putin.”

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/trump-banner/




Large banners installed on the facade of the U.S. Department of Agriculture show President Donald Trump and President Abraham Lincoln
Eric Garcia/The Independent
44 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Trump banner on gov building sparks backlash: 'Welcome to North America's North Korea' (Original Post) BumRushDaShow May 2025 OP
I'm going to burst a blood vessel. choie May 2025 #1
Will eLoon teach us all how to do a nice crisp Nazi salute,... magicarpet May 2025 #6
This message was self-deleted by its author bluboid May 2025 #31
Has he been talking to Kim Jong Un again? Bayard May 2025 #2
Lincoln's picture is not a prison booking photo. Trump's is Walleye May 2025 #3
Came with the same thought! BadgerMom May 2025 #30
How is that being accepted Down in Dixie? Norrrm May 2025 #4
So, ol' Nicked Ear is up there with Abraham Lincoln? yorkster May 2025 #5
How much did this latest piece of Trump tat cost the American people? jls4561 May 2025 #7
Hair Fhrer! ZDU May 2025 #8
The department was created when Lincoln was president. There's no reason for Trump's mug to be there. highplainsdem May 2025 #9
Other than to make everyone vomit mdbl May 2025 #13
No reason is right. However. Those who hung it "reason" that the felon's mug shot is a badge of honor. ancianita May 2025 #14
The Crime Minister NEVER looked that good. lastlib May 2025 #10
Ya, that's some fascist dictator bullshit right there JoseBalow May 2025 #11
It's the fascist reality we fight against. ancianita May 2025 #16
king CONvict said hitler "did some good things" ... Justice matters. May 2025 #22
I wouldn't stand behind that picture of the orange one. That could be target practice. twodogsbarking May 2025 #12
I read this story an hour ago, and I'm still fantasizing about how to set it on fire William Seger May 2025 #39
Jewish Space Laser? twodogsbarking May 2025 #40
I hope it gets destroyed. tonekat May 2025 #15
100% Mussolini shit Nigrum Cattus May 2025 #17
Clickbait headline - this is incorrect FakeNoose May 2025 #18
The Independent had the original article BumRushDaShow May 2025 #19
Thanks for everything you do, BRDS. ... littlemissmartypants May 2025 #27
I will pay kacekwl May 2025 #20
Snort littlemissmartypants May 2025 #28
When do they just jump right to liberalgunwilltravel May 2025 #21
I'm sputtering and can't even find the words. yellow dahlia May 2025 #23
I always assumed Big Brother would have better hair. LudwigPastorius May 2025 #24
I haven't smiled since November BidenRocks May 2025 #25
I got my first VCR around 1986 BumRushDaShow May 2025 #38
Perfect, the president that started land grant colleges and the one that killed them. dem4decades May 2025 #26
He's really full of himself, isn't he? littlemissmartypants May 2025 #29
Yep. All fascists are, but in terms of sheer ego, he gives most of them a run for their money. Karasu May 2025 #32
Could you imagine what Republicans would do if we had unfurled a banner of Biden like that? nt SunSeeker May 2025 #33
Biden would never, so maybe we should start framing it that way Hekate May 2025 #36
Of course he wouldn't. Dems don't don't want to be like Putin or Kim Jong-un. nt SunSeeker May 2025 #37
im about to do my captaim magma trip AllaN01Bear May 2025 #34
Just about exactly what I thought when I posted Big Brother is Watching You ... Hekate May 2025 #35
Don't know if I'll ever set foot in Washington DC again kimbutgar May 2025 #41
i prefer this version moonshinegnomie May 2025 #42
Didn't take long, did it? BumRushDaShow May 2025 #43
MaddowBlog-The inadvertent truth exposed by the Justice Department's new Trump banner LetMyPeopleVote Feb 21 #44

magicarpet

(18,469 posts)
6. Will eLoon teach us all how to do a nice crisp Nazi salute,...
Thu May 15, 2025, 04:28 PM
May 2025

..... so we can hail Fuhrer trDUMP during his birthday military parade ?

?si=ZRRUxE7mTnVvcEOU

Response to choie (Reply #1)

Bayard

(29,398 posts)
2. Has he been talking to Kim Jong Un again?
Thu May 15, 2025, 04:20 PM
May 2025

Haven't heard much about that love affair lately.

Norrrm

(4,773 posts)
4. How is that being accepted Down in Dixie?
Thu May 15, 2025, 04:24 PM
May 2025

Today's official republican position - Lincoln was our nation's greatest leader

From the 2004 GOP Platform - (I have not seen them change it.)

"One hundred and fifty years ago, Americans who had gathered to
protest the expansion of slavery gave birth to a political Party that
would save the Union - the Republican Party.

In 1860, Abraham Lincoln of Illinois carried the Republican banner
in the Presidential election and was elected the Party's first
President. He became our nation's greatest leader … and one of our
Party's greatest heroes.

yorkster

(3,781 posts)
5. So, ol' Nicked Ear is up there with Abraham Lincoln?
Thu May 15, 2025, 04:26 PM
May 2025

Where's a flaming arrow when you need it..
What a damn joke.

jls4561

(3,056 posts)
7. How much did this latest piece of Trump tat cost the American people?
Thu May 15, 2025, 04:31 PM
May 2025

This taxpayer wants to know.

highplainsdem

(61,539 posts)
9. The department was created when Lincoln was president. There's no reason for Trump's mug to be there.
Thu May 15, 2025, 04:49 PM
May 2025

ancianita

(43,256 posts)
14. No reason is right. However. Those who hung it "reason" that the felon's mug shot is a badge of honor.
Thu May 15, 2025, 05:22 PM
May 2025

ancianita

(43,256 posts)
16. It's the fascist reality we fight against.
Thu May 15, 2025, 05:29 PM
May 2025

He's never been pretending. He said it. He's doing it. He's the US dictator.
We live under this dark death dealing tyranny every damn day.

Justice matters.

(9,687 posts)
22. king CONvict said hitler "did some good things" ...
Thu May 15, 2025, 07:22 PM
May 2025

I guess he wants to copy his "some good things" while causing millions of children starve to death.

tonekat

(2,513 posts)
15. I hope it gets destroyed.
Thu May 15, 2025, 05:24 PM
May 2025

Maybe that artist who projected images on the Old Post Office can do something with this?

FakeNoose

(41,234 posts)
18. Clickbait headline - this is incorrect
Thu May 15, 2025, 05:44 PM
May 2025

The banners on the USDA building do not say that. Some political pundits were quoted making sarcastic comments, including the one about North Korea.

From the OP story:

The Bulwark’s Tim Miller wrote: “Its interesting that these freedom loving MAGA alpha males want to institute this deeply creepy 3rd world culture where we have a national daddy that must be obeyed.”

Political analyst Rachel Bitecofer warned Trump is “going to go full Putin.”

“Welcome to North America’s North Korea!” exclaimed Russell Drew, a self-described amateur historian and political junkie.
- more at link -

BumRushDaShow

(168,663 posts)
19. The Independent had the original article
Thu May 15, 2025, 06:15 PM
May 2025
‘Deeply creepy’: Enormous brooding banner of Trump now hangs next to Lincoln outside Department of Agriculture

which was purportedly posted by them around 8 pm ET last night. But since I keep over 3 dozen news sites in tabs including them, and check the sites continually while I'm online, I never saw it "featured" or linked to on The Independent's subject category pages, nor on their main page. By the time I found it, it was obviously beyond the 12-hour LBN threshehold. Raw Story did have it, summarized it, and linked to it (and included social media stuff).

You can "pick your poison" when it comes to "headlines".

littlemissmartypants

(32,810 posts)
27. Thanks for everything you do, BRDS. ...
Thu May 15, 2025, 11:00 PM
May 2025

LBN would probably collapse in on itself without you.



❤️

BidenRocks

(3,161 posts)
25. I haven't smiled since November
Thu May 15, 2025, 09:28 PM
May 2025

Now I am constantly angry. I am shouting at the radio and TV.
There is no escape from that ugly ass face and irritating voice.
This is truly some scary shit!

It's time to re-watch the original "V" miniseries.
The banners were up in no time.

Ukraine, if your listening. Could we borrow a small fire breathing drone?

BumRushDaShow

(168,663 posts)
38. I got my first VCR around 1986
Fri May 16, 2025, 05:11 AM
May 2025

and when NBC rebroadcast "V" (and its sequel), I recorded them and I still have them on VHS (in a cabinet in the basement).

Karasu

(2,003 posts)
32. Yep. All fascists are, but in terms of sheer ego, he gives most of them a run for their money.
Fri May 16, 2025, 01:43 AM
May 2025

SunSeeker

(58,179 posts)
33. Could you imagine what Republicans would do if we had unfurled a banner of Biden like that? nt
Fri May 16, 2025, 02:31 AM
May 2025

Hekate

(100,133 posts)
35. Just about exactly what I thought when I posted Big Brother is Watching You ...
Fri May 16, 2025, 04:10 AM
May 2025

…when we first saw the photo.

It takes a pretty sick mind to think this and the Dear Leader Parade are acceptable.

kimbutgar

(27,167 posts)
41. Don't know if I'll ever set foot in Washington DC again
Fri May 16, 2025, 11:38 AM
May 2025

Don’t want to see that ugly, hideous, and evil face defecating on our nations capitol!

LetMyPeopleVote

(178,604 posts)
44. MaddowBlog-The inadvertent truth exposed by the Justice Department's new Trump banner
Sat Feb 21, 2026, 03:18 PM
Feb 21

The display doesn’t show a commanding figure; it shows a flailing politician pretending to convey strength.

We’re apparently supposed to see Trump's fascistic DOJ banner and hear the implicit questions: “Don’t I appear imposing? Isn’t it clear how powerful I am?”

The answer, however, is “no.”

The banner doesn’t signal strength — it reflects desperation.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-02-20T20:40:06.281Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/the-inadvertent-truth-exposed-by-the-justice-departments-creepy-new-trump-banner

With this in mind, MS NOW reported Thursday on the latest addition to the façade at Main Justice:

A large banner with Donald Trump’s face was hung on the front of the Justice Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., the president’s latest effort to imprint his personal brand on the nation’s capital.

Observers spotted the lengthy blue banner featuring Trump’s face sandwiched between two pillars on the building’s exterior on Thursday. The banner, which also includes the DOJ seal, states, ‘Make America Safe Again,’ and adorns the front entrance of a department that Democrats say has been weaponized by Trump
.


In a written statement, Trump’s DOJ acknowledged the developments, saying: “We are proud at this Department of Justice to celebrate 250 years of our great country and our historic work to make America safe again at President Trump’s direction.”

Photo:

Ryan J. Reilly “paints a vivid and urgent portrait of… disarray” (@ryanjreilly.com) 2026-02-19T20:37:47.353Z


.....Indeed, the banner was helpful in removing a pretense that no one took seriously anyway. The DOJ’s official statement was explicit and unambiguous: The department works at “Trump’s direction” — as opposed to the direction of the attorney general, who’s supposed to lead federal law enforcement.

But I’m also reminded of a column written by the Times’ Jamelle Bouie in August:

The administration-produced imagery in Washington is, then, a projection of sorts — a representation of what the president wants reality to be, drawn from its idea of what authoritarianism looks like. The banners and the troops — not to mention the strangely sycophantic cabinet meetings and news conferences — are a secondhand reproduction of the strongman aesthetic of other strongman states. It is as if the administration is building a simulacrum of authoritarianism, albeit one meant to bring the real thing into being. No, the United States is not a totalitarian state led by a sovereign Donald Trump — a continental Trump Organization backed by the world’s largest nuclear arsenal — but his favored imagery reflects his desire to live in this fantasy.


Six months later, Bouie’s observation still resonates. The DOJ banner doesn’t signal Trump’s strength — it reflects his desperation.

A failing president wants to convey authority, so he and his team scramble to impose symbols like these on the public. They appear intended to convey questions Trump seems reluctant to ask out loud: “Don’t I appear imposing? Isn’t it clear how powerful I am? Shouldn’t my opponents feel an overwhelming sense of fear?”

The answer to the questions, however, is “no.” In fact, members of Team Trump have it backward: By trying too hard, their posturing delivers the opposite of the intended message.

The Justice Department’s banner, in other words, doesn’t show a commanding figure; it shows a flailing politician pretending to convey confidence and strength.
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