Melania Trump statue mysteriously vanishes from Slovenian hometown

A bronze statue of Melania Trump, which once stood near the River Sava in her Slovenian hometown of Sevnica, has mysteriously disappeared — leaving behind only its feet and the stump it was mounted on.

The statue, inspired by the US First Lady and unveiled in 2020, was removed just months after Melania resumed her role in Washington, following her husband Donald Trump’s re-election. The missing artwork is being investigated by local police, who have classified it as theft.

This is not the first time Sevnica’s tribute to its most famous daughter has faced misfortune. The original version of the statue — a rough wooden carving created by local chainsaw artist Ales “Maxi” Zupevc in 2019 — was destroyed by arson on the Fourth of July in 2020. American artist Brad Downey, who commissioned the piece, had already created a mold. The second version was recast in bronze and reinstalled at the same location.

At the time of its unveiling, Downey said the updated statue was meant to be “as solid as possible, out of a durable material which cannot be wantonly destroyed.” But its apparent abduction proves otherwise — it was sawn off at the ankles and removed entirely.

Downey, who has described the project as political art, said he selected Maxi as the sculptor due to their shared working-class roots, similar to Melania’s own background. He has also been vocal about what he sees as a contradiction in her fast-tracked citizenship while her husband’s administration enforced restrictive immigration policies.

Now, Downey suspects that the statue’s disappearance may be linked to Donald Trump’s return to political prominence. “I think it has something to do with Trump getting re-elected,” he told local media.

Sevnica’s local authorities, while condemning the theft, noted that public opinion about the statue — and what it represented — was divided. “The image of the US First Lady was not something anyone was proud of,” they said in a statement.