USA’s 250th Birthday in Denmark: No US Officials

PRESS RELEASE JULY 3RD 2026

TRUMP PARTICIPATES IN AMERICA’S LARGEST 250TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OUTSIDE THE US – ON A MOBILITY SCOOTER

Official representatives of the Trump administration have been excluded from the programme after a demand from a Danish public funder. But a naked, gold-covered Trump will appear anyway

REBILD, DENMARK – JULY 4, 2026

It will be a highly unusual celebration of America’s 250th anniversary in Denmark.

On July 4, Danes and Americans will gather in the Rebild Hills for what the organisers themselves describe as the world’s largest celebration of American Independence Day outside the United States.

But on America’s 250th birthday, there will be no official representatives of the current US government in the programme.

A Danish public funder made its continued financial support for the event conditional on representatives of the US state – including the US Embassy and the military – not taking part in the official programme.

The background is the Trump administration’s policies and statements on Greenland, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

It is a remarkable situation: Denmark and the United States are old allies, both members of NATO, and since 1912 the Rebild Festival has been a symbol of friendship between the two countries. Yet America’s 250th anniversary will now be celebrated without official representatives of the government currently leading the United States.

But Donald Trump is coming anyway.

Not the real Donald Trump. A naked, gold-covered version of the American president – on a mobility scooter.

On July 4, Danish artist Jens Galschiøt will bring his mobile sculpture The Orange Plague to the Rebild Festival. The sculpture shows Trump sitting on the back of an emaciated man. The 1.5-metre-high Trump figure is covered in gold leaf and mounted on the back of a four-wheeled mobility scooter.

“Official America has been asked to stay out of the programme. But Trump, apparently, is impossible to keep away. So now he is coming instead: naked, covered in gold and on a mobility scooter,”

says Jens Galschiøt.

A HISTORIC REJECTION OF OFFICIAL AMERICA

The Rebild Festival is not an ordinary local folk festival. Since 1912, it has been one of the strongest symbols of the friendship between Denmark and the United States. For generations, American ambassadors, diplomats, military representatives and prominent Americans have taken part in the celebration.

In 2026, the festival was meant to be a special tribute to the United States on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Instead, it has also become a symbol of the serious crisis in relations between the US and Denmark.

Aalborg Municipality, which provides a major public subsidy for the event, made its continued support conditional on representatives of the US state no longer being part of the official programme. The background was the Trump administration’s actions towards Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark.

The organisers accepted the condition.

“I cannot remember anything like this,” says Jens Galschiøt. “We are celebrating America’s 250th anniversary and the historic friendship between Denmark and the United States – but representatives of the current American government are not welcome in the official programme. That says something about how dramatic relations with the Trump administration have become.”

For Galschiøt, it is important to distinguish between the United States and the US government.

“The American people are not Donald Trump. The friendship between Danes and Americans is bigger and older than one president. That is precisely why it makes sense to celebrate America – and at the same time criticise the man who currently represents the country and who is threatening the rules-based world order and the democratic processes that America once distinguished itself by creating.”

3D-printed Miniature sculptures are handed out for free when the Orange Plague is presented. The small statues can be seen as protest symbold, or "mascot”. Something participants take with them as a provocation and a call to action to stand together against his dominance.

THE TRUMP THEY DID NOT INVITE

The Orange Plague was originally created for the UN climate summit COP30 in Brazil in 2025 as a comment on Donald Trump’s power and his influence on global climate policy.

Since then, the sculpture has appeared at demonstrations about Greenland, at the Munich Security Conference in Germany and most recently at Denmark’s Folkemødet democracy festival on Bornholm, where it moved through crowds of tens of thousands of people.

Before the trip to Bornholm, Trump was covered in gold leaf. The gold refers to the president’s well-known fascination with gold and to a world in which wealth, privilege and power are reserved for himself and his inner circle. But the sculpture also refers to Hans Christian Andersen’s The Emperor’s New Clothes.

“Trump loves gold. Trump loves attention. But the sculpture is also about the rest of us. How long are we willing to carry him on our backs?” says Galschiøt.

FIRST THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WAS EXCLUDED – THEN THE TRUMP SCULPTURE WAS ASKED TO STAY AWAY

The artistic Trump also had trouble getting to the party. When Jens Galschiøt informed the organisers that he intended to attend peacefully with the sculpture, the Rebild Festival’s security chief asked him to stay away.

Apparently, the problem was not only Trump - It was also the mobility scooter.

The security chief raised questions about the vehicle’s centre of gravity, turning radius, braking distance, steep hills, gravel paths and emergency exits. He warned that the 40-kilogram Trump sculpture could make the scooter dangerous.

For a while, Galschiøt therefore decided to abandon the visit.

“I have taken Trump to a UN climate summit in Brazil, the Munich Security Conference and through a festival with 40,000 people. But the Rebild Hills apparently turned out to be the ultimate challenge,” he says.

Then the police became involved: North Jutland Police wrote to the artist that they would help examine whether a visible and relevant location could be found at the event, provided that the scooter is safe for transporting the sculpture.

So Trump is now back on the road.

“We are not coming to create a confrontation. We are coming with a work of art. We want people to laugh, take pictures, get annoyed, discuss and think. That is what political art should be able to do,”

says Galschiøt.

IS THE MOBILITY SCOOTER DANGEROUS – OR IS IT THE PASSENGER?

The process has also left the artist with a question. If an approved mobility scooter is considered a serious safety risk because of hills, gravel and emergency exits, what does that mean for guests who actually depend on mobility vehicles?

“Of course I still hope that people with disabilities are welcome. Perhaps it is only the gold-covered American president on the luggage rack that makes the vehicle dangerous,” says Galschiøt.

A BIRTHDAY PRESENT AMERICA DID NOT ASK FOR

On July 4, the real Donald Trump will celebrate America’s 250th anniversary in the United States. In Denmark, the world’s largest celebration of American Independence Day outside the US will take place without official representatives of his government.

But his gold-covered double is coming.

Naked.

On the back of an emaciated man.

And on a mobility scooter.

If it survives the gravel.

PRESS CONTACT

Jens Galschiøt
Phone / WhatsApp / Signal: +45 4044 7058
Email: Jens@galschiot.com

Background, Press photos etc.