On a highway in Arizona is a new billboard criticizing the Trump administration for “screwing the American people.”
The double-sided billboard, which is privately owned by activist and artist Beatrice Moore, depicts Elon Musk holding President Donald Trump as a puppet on one side with the words: “Project 2025: Trump, Musk and Enablers, are shredding the Constitution and screwing the American people. Funded on behalf of the 77.89 million citizens who voted for someone other than Trump.”
The other side shows Trump stating: “I have nothing to do with Project 2025,” next to a list of Project 2025 proposals which he has now instated.
The artworks on the billboard are by artist Karen Fiorito and are called “Twitler and Putin’s Puppet Do Washington” and “Liar-in-Chief.”
Why It Matters
Billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO Musk is depicted as puppeteering Trump with his arm raised, capturing the moment he made a salute that was deemed fascist by many at Trump’s inauguration.
Trump was accused of being Musk’s puppet following Musk’s multimillion-dollar donations to the Trump campaign. The criticism intensified after Trump used his office to promote Tesla.
Over half of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of Musk, and his wide-sweeping cuts to the federal workforce via his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have become a hot-button issue at town halls in Republican districts.
Alex Brandon/AP Photo
What To Know
Arizona swung for Trump in 2024, but also elected Democrat Ruben Gallego to its open Senate seat.
The installation, which can be found on Phoenix’s Grand Avenue between 10th and 11th avenues, went up in early March.
It not only depicts Trump as a puppet and shows Elon’s Salute, but also references the controversial Project 2025 900-page document by The Heritage Foundation, which Trump swore he knew nothing about while campaigning.
Since taking office, Trump has hired multiple writers and contributors to the Conservative manifesto and implemented many of its policies including withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord, increasing immigration raids and implementing a federal hiring freeze.
The policies proposed in Project 2025 which Trump has now implemented are listed on the billboard for people to read.
Karen Fiorito
The slute imagery comes after not only was Trump adviser Musk accused of doing a “Roman Salute,” but so was Steve Bannon at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
Trump also recently “re-Truthed” an opinion piece from the Washington Examiner which included an image of an upside-down pink triangle, a Nazi symbol for singling out gay men in concentration camps.
In 2016, JD Vance called Trump “America’s Hitler.” He is now serving as his vice president.
The billboard’s depiction of Trump comes after he not only used his position to buy a Tesla and stage a Tesla photo shoot in front of the White House, but also declared on Truth Social that boycotting or protesting the cars would count as “domestic terrorism.”
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
While the billboard is intended to resist Trump, it says it is there on behalf of the 77.89 people who did not vote for him, not the 74.999 million people who voted for Harris.
Many Harris voters were frustrated with third-party voters who they believe essentially voted for Trump by failing to vote for the only other viable candidate.
The artwork on the billboard is privately funded by Moore through her Grand Avenue Billboard Project. She told the Arizona Republic that it is nice to own her own space so she can display images that may be too controversial for company-owned billboards.
This is not the first anti-Trump poster to appear on the Grand Avenue billboard. In 2021, Fiorito put up a billboard depicting Trump in prison garb surrounded by two mushroom clouds and dollar signs which look like swastikas.
The billboard has displayed other political works in the past, such as supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, and encouraging people to go vote.
Speaking to Newsweek about her art, Fiorito said: “I was ‘inspired’ by the fact that the richest man in the world (and an unelected official) has bought the presidency of the United States and is using these powers to enrich himself. There is something inherently evil about billionaires taking away aid and jobs from hard working Americans. There is too much compliance going on in the media, and people need to stand up and fight back.”
She added that making political art is a “blessing and a curse,” and that “I am probably best known as a political artist, whether I like it or not.”
“I think all art is political. Even abstract art is political by not being political,” Fiorito said. “Avoiding politics is a political statement. I believe everyone should care or be concerned about politics. So much of our wellbeing and the wellbeing of the planet is contingent on what happens on the political stage.”
She also thanked Moore for making her billboard a space for art to thrive. “[Moore] is a fearless leader and collaborator. I want to thank her again for being a hero!”
What People Are Saying
Beatrice Moore, owner of the billboard, told the Arizona Republic: “It’s a good feeling that somebody’s speaking out in a very visual way. No, we’re not afraid of you…This is symbolic, to take him down now after the election.”
Karen Fiorito told the Arizona Republic: “We put up this billboard as a literal sign of resistance to Elon Musk and the Trump regime. Those who resist Project 2025 and its implications must stand together and not comply in advance.”
Fiorito told Newsweek: “I believe that, as the famous quote goes, ‘Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.’ I want people who are afraid to know they are not alone. I want those in power to know that we are watching.
“We are already seeing censorship in the arts. Museums and galleries have always capitulated but this time they are really towing the line for the new Administration. With Trump in charge of the Kennedy Center, it feels like the Arts are under attack, and I fear it will only get worse for artists, especially those deemed ‘political.'”
What Happens Next?
The billboard is expected to remain for the duration of 2025, according to the Arizona Republic.
Correction: 3/14/25, 10:30 a.m. ET: The billboard of Trump between mushroom clouds is from 2021, the other side of this billboard shows Trump stating: “I know nothing about Project 2025.”
Update: 3/14/25, 10:30 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from Fiorito.
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