XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.atheism, alt.home.repair
XPost: rec.arts.tv

He's going to hang naked upside down by his tippy toes from a street light! Better reenforce the lamp post, all that blubber weighs a lot!



Giant Donald Trump Portrait Draped Over Department of Labor Building in DC Published Aug 26, 2025

A massive portrait of Donald Trump was draped over the Department of Labor building in Washington, D.C., on Monday.

It features Trump's second inaugural portrait, the logo for his America 250 initiative, and the slogan "American Workers First."

It stretches across three stories of the building's windows, flanked by an American flag and a portrait of Theodore Roosevelt carrying the same motto. trump
President Donald Trump's portrait is seen outside the Department of Labor
in Washington, D.C., on August 25, 2025. USDOL via X
Why It Matters

The massive portrait of Trump on the Department of Labor building carries significance beyond its visual spectacle, highlighting concerns over the personalization of power and executive messaging. Historically,
authoritarian leaders—such as Josef Stalin in the Soviet Union and Mao
Zedong in China—have used government buildings to project control and
reinforce their image, and critics suggest Trump's display echoes this tradition.

The banner also coincides with recent labor and social policy rollbacks.
What To Know

The portrait provoked reaction on social media, with some comparing the
move to display it to those made by dictators.

"Looks like something I've seen before..." Democratic Massachusetts
congressman Jim McGovern wrote on X, formerly Twitter, alongside an image
of portraits of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his father Kim Jong Il hanging on the front of a large building.

X trackers and content blocked

Your Firefox settings blocked this content from tracking you across sites
or being used for ads.

Political scientist Evan A. Feigenbaum compared Trump to the Chinese
dictator, writing on X: "Strong Chairman Mao vibes."

Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom's X account made light of the portrait, posting a picture of people bowing to an image of Mao, with the caption: "THANK YOU, GLORIOUS LEADER!"

Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Waterloo Roy Norton wrote
on X: "I was recently in Dushanbe, Tajikistan (a former Soviet Republic). Posters of their President (since 1994), Emomali Rahmon, also hang from government buildings there."
Read more

DC National Guard changes commander
Donald Trump "in denial"—Nate Silver
"South Park" targets Trump admin secretary in new episode
Fox News Hosts' Texts Revealed in Lawsuit—5 Bombshells

Authoritarian leaders have long used portraits and banners to project
power, turning government buildings into vehicles for personal
glorification. In the Soviet Union, Josef Stalin's face loomed over cities
for decades. His likeness appeared on enormous posters, friezes and parade banners, presenting him as the embodiment of Bolshevik ideals. According to research published by the Australian National University, Stalin's image
was deliberately crafted to make him appear omniscient and heroic, a
constant reminder of state ideology.

China's Mao Zedong also deployed imagery on a massive scale. During the Cultural Revolution, Mao's portrait was ubiquitous—from newspapers like the People's Daily to billions of posters and badges featuring his face. In the Dominican Republic, dictator Rafael Trujillo went so far as to rename the capital after himself. Public buildings, license plates and even city walls were plastered with slogans like "God in Heaven, Trujillo on Earth."

Turkmenistan's Saparmurat Niyazov took the tradition into the modern era, erecting a golden rotating statue of himself in Ashgabat and renaming
streets, airports and even a meteorite after him.

Trump has on several occasions likened himself to a dictator. Before his
second term, he said he would be a dictator on "day one" in office.

This week, he suggested that "a lot" of Americans may like a dictator.

Trump made the remarks while fielding questions about his threat to deploy National Guard troops to D.C., which he has said could soon extend to other cities, including Chicago.

"As you know, Chicago is a killing field right now, and they don't
acknowledge it," he said, criticizing Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and
other Democrats opposed to federal troops being sent to the city. "They
say, 'We don't need him! Freedom! Freedom! He's a dictator! He's a
dictator!'"

He then added, "A lot of people are saying maybe we'd like a dictator,"
before insisting that he does not seek such power. "I'm not a dictator,"
Trump said. "I'm a man with common sense and a smart person."

Others pointed to cuts Trump has made to the Department of Labor and Social Security, arguing that he is not a pro-worker president.

Maryland State Delegate Joe Vogel wrote: "The absolute f****** audacity to tweet this after spending the first 8 months of this presidency gutting
worker rights and screwing over working people."

Liz Shuler, president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), said: "Tearing up union contracts,
taking Medicaid and SNAP away from millions of workers and gutting
essential services is not putting 'American workers first' — it's
protecting billionaires and greedy corporate CEOs while leaving working families increasingly vulnerable."

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich said: "Trump's Labor Department is
aiming to rewrite or repeal 60+ worker protections, including: Minimum wage
for home health care workers, Rules that improve construction & mine
safety, OSHA's ability to punish employers for unsafe workplaces.

The AFL-CIO said: "Trump hasn't put 'American workers first.' He's been the union-buster in chief."

The Trump administration has moved aggressively to dismantle organized
labor within the federal workforce. More than one million federal employees—roughly four out of five workers covered by union contracts—have
lost collective bargaining rights since January. The Department of Veterans Affairs, Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of Health and
Human Services have all revoked union agreements, reclaiming office space
and resources previously allocated to union representation.

The White House argues the moves are necessary for efficiency and national security, but labor groups have condemned them as the largest anti-union
push in modern U.S. history.

Alongside union rollbacks, Trump has also targeted social safety-net
programs. The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" introduced sweeping changes to Medicaid and SNAP. The law imposes an 80-hour monthly work requirement on childless adults receiving Medicaid, increases state cost-sharing
obligations, and tightens eligibility rules. SNAP benefits will be cut by
$186 billion over ten years, with stricter work mandates and reduced
benefit updates. Analysts estimate that millions of Americans could lose healthcare coverage and food assistance under the new law.

Meanwhile, at the Department of Labor, officials are seeking to roll back
more than 60 worker protections, framing them as outdated or burdensome.
Among the most significant changes are proposals to eliminate minimum wage
and overtime protections for 3.7 million home health care workers, weaken construction and mining safety rules, and reduce OSHA's authority to
penalize unsafe workplace practices.

The administration has also proposed removing safety and anti-retaliation protections for migrant farmworkers in the H-2A visa program. Worker
advocates warn that these measures would disproportionately harm vulnerable groups—including women, immigrants and minorities—while making already dangerous jobs riskier.
What Happens Next

It is not clear if the Trump administration will put up similar portraits
on other government department buildings.

This is not the first instance of a federal building showcasing Trump's
image. Earlier this spring, a banner featuring the same presidential
portrait of Trump, paired with one of Abraham Lincoln, was displayed on the Department of Agriculture building.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)