'A Beautiful Piece of Art': The Hasidic Jews Behind Florida's Giant Golden Trump Statue
At the unveiling of a 22-foot golden statue of Donald Trump at his Florida golf resort, Hasidic Jewish activists joined evangelical supporters as Trump phoned in to thank attendees, even as critics likened the display to the biblical golden calf
A screenshot from the unveiling ceremony of the statue in Florida. Rabbi Yaakov Flitchkin can be seen on the right. Credit: YouTube / The Independent
Ben Kroll and David Issacharoff
09:24 PM • May 10 2026 IDT
As a giant gold statue of U.S. President Donald Trump was unveiled in Florida last week, a group of Hasidic ultra-Orthodox Jews joined the ribbon-cutting ceremony, while Trump personally thanked them for their contribution during a phone call documented at the event.
The 6.7-meter (22-foot) statue was installed at Trump National Doral Miami, a golf resort in Doral, South Florida and received widespread ridicule on X for resembling a modern-day "golden calf."
The towering statue depicts Trump standing with his fist clenched in the air in a pose resembling the moment after the assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The statue of President Donald Trump in Doral, Florida. Credit: Getty Images via AFP/Orlando Ramirez
Pastor Mark Burns, an evangelical leader and self-described spiritual adviser to the president and longtime backer, led the project and described the unveiling as "a celebration of life."
Posting on social media after Wednesday's ceremony, Burns personally thanked ultra-Orthodox activists Yaakov Flitchkin and Hershey Friedman, who he said were among the "6,000+ Patriots who gave, prayed, supported and made this historic moment possible." Despite Burns' personal mention of the two, the scope of their contribution remains unclear.
Today at Trump National Doral Miami, we witnessed an unforgettable moment with the dedication of the 22-foot statue honoring President Donald J. Trump. Let me be clear: this is not a golden calf. We worship the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. This statue is a celebration of
Trump was documented speaking on the phone with Flitchkin and Friedman, according to the Yiddish-language X page Kanynahora, with Burns holding the iPhone while the president was on the line. "I want to thank you so much… I love that name," Trump told Friedman, adding: "It's turned out to be a beautiful piece of art. I hope you're happy with it."
"It's an honor to be here," Flitchkin said, to which Trump replied: "Come up and see me in the Oval."
פרעזידענט טראמפ אין א טעלעפאן געשפרעך מיט צוויי חסידישע אידן, העשי פריעדמאן און יעקב פליטשקין, וועלכע האבן געהאלפן פינאנצירן א גאלדענע סטאטוע פונעם פרעזידענט.
Flitchkin is the executive director of the Alliance for Global Cooperation, an organization that says it "promotes international peace & security" – though its website is currently inaccessible. He is also listed as an "angel investor" in a group called "Bilateral Navigator," where he is described as "a prominent philanthropist" who is "active at the UN in interfaith and intercultural dialogue."
Honored to attend President Trump's inauguration in DC with friends, NYC Mayor @EricAdams, @brockpierce and grateful for @pastormarkburns hospitality
He has previously been involved in several events directly associated with Trump, including the president's second inauguration in January 2025, where he held a small replica of the Trump statue. During that ceremony, Flitchkin was photographed with Burns, then-New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Brock Pierce, a former child actor turned crypto entrepreneur, who was also present at last week's statue dedication and cut the ribbon alongside Flitchkin.
In addition, Flitchkin was one of two guests who visited Ukraine in October 2025 to take part in the opening ceremony for the "Trump Peace Park." The park, located in the Jewish village of Anatevka, was built in honor of Trump's "global peace efforts, particularly in Israel," according to Moshe Azman, Ukraine's chief rabbi. Burns was documented alongside Flitchkin in Ukraine last year, where the evangelical pastor urged Trump to provide Ukraine with military aid, including U.S. tanks and F-35 fighter jets.
Chief Rabbi Of Ukraine Moshe Azman
We had the privilege of hosting two distinguished guests from the United States, Mr. @parscale and Mr. @Yaakov_Flitch, in our miracle village of Anatevka. We celebrated the opening of Trump Peace Park, dedicated to honoring President Trump’s global peace efforts, particularly in
On his Instagram page, Flitchkin features photos of himself with Argentine President Javier Milei, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and far-right American broadcaster Tucker Carlson, among other leaders.
At the statue-unveiling ceremony in Florida last week, Trump phoned in to address the dozens gathered there, thanking them for the "beautiful" statue. "I got to look at it very closely and it's incredible," he said. "We love you all, and the country's doing great. And Iran is not doing good because of us. They are not doing well at all," he added.
While the statue unveiled last week drew praise from the president's supporters – and from Trump himself, who wrote on Truth Social that it was "put there by great American Patriots!!!" – many on social media mocked the giant gold monument for resembling the golden calf from the biblical book of Exodus.
"This is what idol worship looks like," Reverend Benjamin Cremer wrote on X. Nicholas Kristof, a New York Times columnist, said the statue reminded him of "the kind of thing" he "used to make fun of when reporting in North Korea."
Burns sought to dismiss the criticism, writing on social media: "Let me say this plainly: this is not a golden calf. We worship the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone." He added that the statue "is not about worship. It is about honor."