A statue of US President Donald Trump holding his foot, titled "The Foot Soldier", is displayed on the National Mall in Washington, DC, US, November 9, 2026. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon
MS NOW’s Rachel Maddow told viewers that a satirical statue of President Donald Trump has gone up on the National Mall, along with a costumed mascot shaped like a giant toe.
Maddow said the statue, titled “The Foot Soldier,” stands near the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden, between Seventh and Ninth streets. It shows an oversized golden Trump seated with one shoe off, wincing as he rubs his bare foot.
According to Maddow, a plaque salutes Trump as “a soldier in spirit who marched to the front lines of dodging the draft,” citing his bone-spur diagnosis and punning on the word “sacrifice.” It ends with a Trump quote from an online post bragging about his rank at a military-themed boarding school: “I can be very military.”
Trump cited bone spurs as the purported justification for the deferment that kept him out of the Vietnam War, Maddow reminded her audience.
She said in addition, a person in a full-body toe costume named Toey has been posted at the statue all day, reportedly telling visitors he is “the hugest toe” and joking in the style of the “this little piggy” nursery rhyme that his piggy skipped the military. Maddow closed by wishing viewers a happy Veterans Day.
Trump has frequently been accused of diminishing or dishonoring the sacrifices of veterans and servicemembers. Most famously, he allegedly called World War I dead "losers" and "suckers," although he vehemently denies ever having said this.