A wax figure of former President Trump has been removed from display in Louis Tussaud’s Waxworks in San Antonio, Texas. As it turns out, the wax likeness of Trump has taken too many punches to the face. Trump’s figure has been stored for repairs.
To be honest, I had no idea this is a thing – that people pay money to go look at wax figures of famous and not-so-famous people only to be triggered enough to punch a face or leave a deep gash in the wax. The faux Trump has been moved pending repairs. Not even moving it to the front lobby with its security spared it from attacks.
When the attacks first started happening, the statue was simply moved to the front lobby, in plain view of security. But that didn’t deter vandals, leading to its ultimate move into storage. Stewart added that Trump’s effigy likely won’t return to the museum floor until President Joe Biden’s figure, which is currently in production in Orlando, can be added to the rotation.
“Our wax figures will need repairing from time to time, ranging from Hollywood celebrities to political figures, museum spokeswoman Suzanne Smagala-Potts told TheWrap. “When a wax figure has been damaged, we will remove the figure from public display and send it to our talented team of artists for repair.”
People Kept Punching a Trump Wax Figure in a Texas Museum and Now It’s Been Stored for Repairs https://t.co/BGXIqu2hcb
— People (@people) March 19, 2021
The museum has a picture of its display placing Trump between Putin and Kim Jong-un on its Instagram account. Frankly, it’s not a great-looking likeness. In case you’re thinking it’s just some Trump-deranged morons on the loose, a museum regional manager says this happens to other former presidents, too. For example, visitors tore the ears off Barack Obama. Yikes!
Museum-goers would punch and scratch the wax figure, leaving visible damage on its face. “We’ve always had trouble with the presidential section because no matter what president it was — Bush, Obama or Trump — they’ve all had people beat them,” Clay Stewart, the regional manager of the museum, told the San Antonio Express-News. “When it’s a highly political figure, attacks can be a problem.”
According to Stewart, Obama’s wax figure was also beaten, losing its ears six different times, but was sent to the museum chain’s Orlando headquarters for repairs. As a result of COVID-19 restrictions, the company in charge of the figures has experienced a shortage of artists, meaning that Trump’s figure could not be repaired quickly.
As you can imagine, Hollywood leftist Jimmy Kimmel enjoyed the news of Trump’s wax figure taking enough damage to be removed for repair. The late-night show host took a shot at Trump during his monologue.
“Here’s a fun story involving our previous president. A place called Louis Tussaud’s Waxworks in San Antonio had to remove its sculpture of Donald Trump because people kept punching it in the face. Every day, someone would punch the wax figure in the face,” said a smiling Kimmel.
Of course, it struck Kimmel as odd that Trump’s was the figure being vandalized so aggressively, given that his likeness was situated between two dictators: Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un.
“This should tell you something—look at the other two guys he’s posed with: Putin and Kim Jong-un. And the one getting punched in the face every day? Trump!” cracked Kimmel. “It’s our own guy. And what a likeness… why he has Heather Locklear’s hair, I don’t know.”
“Anyway, because of all the violent attacks, they had to take the statue down,” he added. “That’s a shame. Why not just fill it with candy and give everyone a bag?”
A museum spokeswoman downplayed the damage done to the Trump wax figure. It happens, she says.
A spokeswoman for museum owner Ripley Entertainment confirms to PEOPLE that the statue had been moved to an undisclosed location to undergo repairs. She downplayed the damage it had received, however — saying it was typical of many of the company’s wax figures.
In a separate statement, the spokeswoman, Suzanne Smagala-Potts, said the company “has a long history of creating wax figures of the US President to display at our Louis Tussaud’s Waxworks and Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditoriums. Our wax figures will need repairing from time to time, ranging from Hollywood celebrities to political figures.”
“Ripley’s only showcases the highest quality of exhibits and wax figures,” her statement continued. “When a wax figure has been damaged, we will remove the figure from public display and send it to our talented team of artists for repair.”
She says this is an interactive museum. It sounds like the crowd gets carried away. There is no word yet when Trump will be repaired, due to a shortage of artists available during the pandemic. The museum does not have a dedicated presidential gallery so it may or may not return.