Bronze statue of Trump installed in latest addition to ‘City of Presidents’ trail

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA/Gray News) – A bronze statue of President Donald Trump was installed Tuesday on the City of Presidents trail in South Dakota.

The statue, unveiled May 3, depicts Trump at a podium holding a phone with a Twitter logo, an artistic detail intended to reflect his prominent use of social media.

“Everyone, whether you’re pro-Trump or not, can agree that he was the first one to utilize social media to the extent of communicating to the general public,” Laurie Sutterer, the visitor services manager at Visit Rapid City, said. “That’s what they look for — a part of history and a part of personality in each statue.”

The statue joined 43 other figures of the presidents at the corner of St. Joseph Street and Sixth Street in Rapid City after spending the summer on display at the visitor center.

Sutterer said there were no incidents while the state was in the visitor center, but urged the public to be respectful of it in its new location.

“There are cameras everywhere,” she said. “Visit Rapid City and the City of Rapid City will pursue legal procedures if necessary, regardless of which statue is vandalized.”

Sutterer said the statue’s entry in the City of Presidents audio tour will be updated after Trump’s second term ends.

While Trump is the first sitting president to have a statue on the trail, he is not the first president to serve nonconsecutive terms. Grover Cleveland, who served nonconsecutive terms in the 19th century, is already represented by a single statue on the trail, organizers said.

There are no plans to add a second statue of Trump.

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