The China Mail - Golden toilet statue mocks Trump near renovated White House

Ensconced in the kind of over-the-top faux marble that Trump loves, the gold-painted toilet bears a plaque reading: "A throne fit for a king."

The pop-up installation created by a clandestine artistic group calling itself the "Secret Handshake" drew long lines of tourists and Trump opponents near the Lincoln Memorial on Tuesday, blocks from the White House.

"I came to Washington to take this photo because I hate Trump," Nancy Chase, 78, told AFP.

Trump has spent much of his first year back in power putting his distinctive style on Washington.

The famed Oval Office now drips with gold ornaments, the once low-key elegant Rose Garden has been paved over, and the entire East Wing of the White House has been torn down to make way for a giant ballroom.

Trump is especially fond of pushing himself to front and center -- with his likeness due to appear on a new coin and his name already featuring in huge letters on the Kennedy Arts Center in the capital.

William Hoker, who bicycled to the satirical golden toilet, said it was a fitting memorial.

"I wanted to see this statue before it disappeared, and I think it epitomizes perfectly the guy in the White House, he's just a vulgar display," the 69-year-old retiree told AFP.

"I think it definitely needs to poke fun at the President," his friend Steve Toulotte added.

A sort of guerrilla arts group, "Secret Handshake" have seeded Washington with provocative temporary statues over the last year, including one depicting Trump with his former friend, the notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

C.Smith--ThChM