XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.atheism, alt.politics.trump   
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   From: mein.fuehere.trump@gov.ok   
      
   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.   
      
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   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."   
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   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   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)