President Trump has installed a life-size bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson in the White House Rose Garden, the fifth monument he has placed there as part of a broader push to honor the nation's founders ahead of America's 250th anniversary.
The Jefferson statue, sculpted by 77-year-old Nebraska artist George Lundeen, arrived at the Rose Garden last week without a formal White House announcement. Two people familiar with the matter confirmed the installation to Newsmax, which cited Washington Post reporting. The statue depicts the nation's third president seated, holding a draft of the Declaration of Independence.
Trump personally called Lundeen on July Fourth to thank him. In a voicemail the sculptor later shared with the Washington Post, the president said simply:
"I just wanted to thank you. The sculpture looks really beautiful."
Lundeen, who has produced numerous prominent public monuments across the country, including a sculpture at the Kennedy Space Center commemorating the Apollo 11 astronauts, said the call caught him off guard.
"When you're a farm boy from the middle of Nebraska, it's kind of neat to get a call from the president. You get a call like that, and you don't know if it is one of your buddies playing a trick on you."
Jefferson joins four other monuments Trump has placed in the Rose Garden: statues of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and a piece called "Freedom's Charge" honoring Revolutionary War soldiers. The Washington statue was relocated from the Washington Monument grounds last year. The Hamilton and Franklin statues were added earlier this year.
Three of those five works, Franklin, Hamilton, and "Freedom's Charge", are on loan from Harlan Crow, a conservative businessman and art collector. They previously stood on Crow's Old Parkland campus in Dallas. A spokesman for Crow confirmed the loan. The White House declined to comment specifically on Crow's role, saying only that the statues came from "generous private American patriots."
The Jefferson statue itself was secretly shipped to the White House on June 29 for off-campus security checks before any public disclosure. The New York Post reported the sculpture is valued at $150,000. No installation events were planned for the July Fourth weekend, and the White House initially declined to confirm where the statue would be placed.
Filmmaker Steven Barber, who helped introduce Lundeen's work to administration officials, appeared to let the destination slip. "He's going to put it in the frigging Rose Garden!" Barber told the New York Post.
Trump's monument campaign traces back to his first term. After the death of George Floyd in 2020, nationwide protests led to the vandalism and removal of numerous statues across the country. Trump responded by signing executive orders directing the federal government to protect existing monuments, restore damaged statues, and commission new memorials. Those orders also required that federally commissioned statues of historical figures be realistic rather than abstract.
In one of those orders, Trump wrote that public statues serve a civic purpose beyond decoration:
"These statues are silent teachers in solid form of stone and metal. They preserve the memory of our American story and stir in us a spirit of responsibility for the chapters yet unwritten."
Rodney Mims Cook Jr., Trump's appointee as chair of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, framed the effort in similar terms. "The president enjoys showcasing American excellence and those Americans who exemplify excellence," Cook said.
On Sunday, Trump highlighted his broader Washington beautification push in a series of Truth Social posts featuring restored monuments near the White House and Union Station. The White House said the effort is intended "to beautify and honor our nation's capital during America's historic 250th anniversary celebrations."
Security around the White House grounds has remained a high priority throughout Trump's second term. A man was detained by the Secret Service at Trump's Doral golf club earlier this year, and serious threats have prompted ongoing reviews of protective measures at presidential properties.
Lundeen is no stranger to presidential subjects. Last year, a bronze statue of Trump, sculpted by Lundeen, was installed at the president's golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida. That piece depicts Trump in a pose inspired by the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, a moment that became one of the most recognizable images of the 2024 campaign.
The Butler attempt itself remains seared into public memory. A Fox News correspondent later recounted the chaos surrounding security threats at high-profile presidential events, a reminder of the risks that follow any sitting president.
Lundeen's broader portfolio spans decades and includes work displayed at prominent public sites nationwide. His Apollo 11 tribute at the Kennedy Space Center stands among his most recognized pieces. But a phone call from the president of the United States, he said, was something else entirely for a self-described Nebraska farm boy.
Several questions remain unanswered. The White House has not disclosed whether the Jefferson statue was purchased, donated, or loaned, or on what terms. The administration has not explained what formal review, if any, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts conducted before the Rose Garden installations. And the identities of the two anonymous sources who confirmed the installation remain unknown.
The quiet nature of the arrival fits a pattern. The White House has treated these installations more like internal decisions than public ceremonies, declining to hold dedication events or issue formal announcements. Trump himself has drawn attention to the broader effort through social media rather than official press channels.
That approach stands in contrast to the scale of what Trump is building. Five monuments in the Rose Garden, Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Hamilton, and a tribute to the Continental Army, amount to a Founders' gallery steps from the Oval Office. The White House under Trump has not been shy about unconventional displays, but the Rose Garden collection is something more deliberate: a physical argument about which Americans deserve permanent public honor.
Six years ago, mobs pulled statues off their pedestals in cities across the country, and much of the political establishment either watched or cheered. Trump is putting them back, one bronze founder at a time.