《The New York Times》: Giving Trump a Golden Statue, a Meme Coin's Wild Marketing

Original Title: "Don Colossus," a Golden Statue of President Trump, Waits for Its Home
Original Author: David Yaffe-Bellany, The New York Times
Translation Author: Luffy, Foresight News

The statue of President Trump is referred to as "Don Colossus." It stands 15 feet tall, placed on a 7000-pound base, making its total height equivalent to a two-story building. This giant statue is cast in bronze, with a thick layer of gold leaf covering its surface. (Note: Don Colossus translates directly to "Giant Don," implying that Trump is a giant figure.)

For over a year, this gold-plated statue has been at the heart of one of the strangest gold rush schemes of the Trump era. A group of cryptocurrency investors spent $300,000 to have the sculptor create this statue as a tribute to Trump's outspoken support for cryptocurrency.

Subsequently, they used this statue to generate buzz for a meme coin called PATRIOT.

Now, unexpectedly, this plan seems poised to come to fruition. Last month, a pedestal made of concrete and stainless steel was completed at Trump's golf resort in Doral, Florida. According to records reviewed by The New York Times, one of the organizers of this plan, Trump's friend Mark Burns, informed a collaborator that the President plans to attend the unveiling ceremony of the statue in the area.

"The statue looks tremendous." Trump wrote in a letter to Burns in December last year.

Alan Cottrill inspects the gold-plated statue of President Trump that he designed in Zanesville, Ohio

Almost everyone in the cryptocurrency space has tried to profit during Trump's presidency: either by engaging in business deals with his family or seeking regulatory relaxation from his government. However, few have been as bold as PATRIOT supporters.

A meme coin is a type of cryptocurrency that has almost no practical use other than speculation. It is usually based on viral memes or celebrity images, and its value depends entirely on the price fans are willing to pay. The key to creating a meme coin is to generate enough online hype to convince potential buyers that its price will continue to rise.

Building a giant statue is a costly social media hype strategy, but it is also a potential profit plan. According to an organizer of this scheme, investors who funded the statue received a large amount of the token, the price of which sometimes skyrocketed. For months, supporters of "Don Colossus" have been posting progress images of the statue on X platform and forming alliances within the "Make America Great Again" camp, aiming to achieve a marketing coup: to have this statue placed on Trump's official property.

By the end of 2024, the PATRIOT Meme coin was officially launched, coinciding with Trump's promise to make the U.S. the "global capital of cryptocurrency," causing the token's price to soar. During an event held in Washington on the presidential inauguration weekend, supporters of the token presented a bronze mini statue to Trump's former advisor, Steve Bannon, and interacted with other conservative figures.

However, constant project delays and internal conflicts have cast a shadow over this gold rush plan, offering a glimpse into the turmoil of the Meme coin market: a market full of various scams, where investors often end up losing everything. Last year, the price of PATRIOT plummeted, almost to zero. In a rush to complete the statue and boost the token, investors also clashed with sculptor Alan Cottrill based in Ohio.

In text messages reviewed by The New York Times, Cottrill said that investors still owed him $75,000 for the statue's intellectual property rights.

"You are using my copyrighted statue image to promote your token!" he wrote last month in a message to one of the token's supporters.

"Yeah, haha, we planned to do that from day one." Ashley Sansalone replied. Sansalone is a cryptocurrency developer who, in addition to PATRIOT, was involved in another token project called Elon GOAT.

Statue of Elon Musk designed by Alan Cottrill

In a statement, Sansalone said that Cottrill would be fully paid before the statue's unveiling. "In any business agreement, a part of the payment is usually withheld until the final product is delivered," he said.

However, it is currently unclear when the statue will be officially unveiled.

Earlier this week, following inquiries to the White House and the Trump Organization about the PATRIOT token by The New York Times, President's son Eric Trump issued a statement on X platform.

“We appreciate everyone's support and enthusiasm,” he said, “but it must be made clear that we have not been involved in any matters related to this token.”

Building “Don Colossus”

The plan to build “Don Colossus” originated in a Telegram group chat, where cryptocurrency enthusiasts often discuss investment strategies and promote tokens. It was July 2024, shortly after Trump had narrowly avoided an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, raising his fist defiantly.

Sansalone envisioned turning this moment of defiance into the core image of a meme coin. He collaborated with right-wing activist Dustin Stockton, and well-connected cryptocurrency investor Brock Pierce, who has a history of various legal and financial disputes, also joined.

Shortly after the bullet grazed Trump's ear, Sansalone reached out to 73-year-old Cottrill, whose bronze statue of Edison now stands in the U.S. Capitol. Over the years, Cottrill has sculpted statues of over a dozen U.S. presidents, including a 10-foot-tall George Washington and Thomas Jefferson memorial.

Cottrill standing in a room filled with sculptures

The group of cryptocurrency investors hoped that Trump's statue would be taller than previous works and suggested some aesthetic modifications.

“The initial image I sculpted was very lifelike,” Cottrill said in an interview last month. “Those crypto folks had me trim some of the excess neck fat and slim down the figure.”

By the time of Trump's inauguration, Cottrill had completed the statue, which was yet to be gilded with gold foil but stood as his tallest piece. In December of last year, Trump reshared a Breitbart News article on the project, stating that Stockton was in talks with the inaugural committee planning to unveil the statue during inauguration weekend.

The timing of this repost was just right: the PATRIOT token had just launched.

The official website stated: "The people's cryptocurrency, a statue that can never be erased."

However, the project soon faced two major setbacks. Severe cold weather in Washington led to a series of logistical issues, delaying the statue unveiling plan; and shortly before the inauguration, Trump launched his own meme coin, TRUMP.

Just as cryptocurrency traders were scrambling to buy this official token, Stockton and Pierce held a "Patriot Award" event at the Washington National Press Club, where they distributed miniature statue models.

"The atmosphere at the event suddenly turned cold because Trump's token price suddenly skyrocketed," Cottrill said.

By the end of January, ATRIOT's price had plummeted over 90%.

"A Piece of Land"

Despite these setbacks, this group of cryptocurrency investors continued to push forward with marketing. In February of last year, the infamous former congressman George Santos showcased a Trump miniature statue on Fox News, specifically mentioning the PATRIOT token.

A small gold-plated Trump statue with a raised fist, surrounded by several dark-colored replicas

Stockton retweeted this video on the X platform, stating, "This kind of exposure is priceless!" In a brief phone interview, Santos said, "I was paid to advertise it, I've always been upfront about that."

Investors also courted another influential ally: Burns. This well-known pastor, a close confidant of Trump sometimes referred to as the informal "spiritual advisor" to the president.

After Pierce introduced him to the project team, Burns became involved in statue-related work. He quickly became a key figure in driving the project restart, proposing to gild the bronze statue with gold leaf.

"The President just asked me for a photo of the statue after it's been gilded," Burns wrote in a message to collaborators last November.

Trump's wish eventually came true. Sansalone revealed to the team that he had consulted a gold leaf supplier in New York who had provided decoration for Trump Tower. Cottrill also shared the latest photo of the statue's finished product.

"Too dazzling, too exquisite," Sansalone replied.

"Wow... this is going to the president," Burns wrote.

Evidently, Trump was impressed by the statue. Last month, Cottrill traveled to Florida to complete the installation of the 7000-pound pedestal at the Trump National Doral Golf Club. Stockton boasted on social media that it was a "gem." In a text message to a collaborator in January, Burns said that the White House scheduling staff is currently "actively nailing down" a date for the president to attend the statue's official unveiling.

Trump National Doral Golf Course, Florida

It should have been Cottrill's shining moment, but he said he had had enough of the cryptocurrency investors behind him.

Cottrill explained that it wasn't until the fall of 2024 that he discovered these cryptocurrency investors were using the image of his work to promote a digital currency, which he believed infringed on his intellectual property.

Eventually, he reached an agreement with the investors: they would pay a $150,000 statue copyright fee. However, he said he has still not received the remainder of the payment, and coupled with other outstanding fees, they owe him a total of about $90,000.

Cryptocurrency investors requested Trump's statue to be tall enough and made some appearance modification requests

"In my view, they never actually bought this intellectual property, and they are now illegally using it," he said. "The statue will never leave my foundry unless all debts are settled."

However, the project's organizers argued that the project didn't really make any money.

Burns said he has never asked for or received any payment. Stockton, in an interview, stated that the PATRIOT token was merely a fundraising tool intended to "provide financial support for all matters related to the statue."

"I haven't seen anyone make big money off of this," Stockton said.

Trump Organization spokesperson Kimberly Benza stated that the company was only made aware of the existence of this Meme coin after inquiries were made by The New York Times earlier this week. She did not respond to questions about whether the statue unveiling ceremony would proceed as planned.

This farce did not stop the project's promotion on social media. An X account associated with the token recently posted a photo of the Colossus of Doral's pedestal and pinned a detailed message explaining how to buy the Meme coin.

"The dream is still alive," Sansalone said on January 16 during a live stream with Burns.

In addition to this giant statue, the team also hopes to gift a gold-plated mini statue to Trump. "We hope to have a piece displayed in the Oval Office," Sansalone said.

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