A 15-foot gold-leafed bronze statue of Donald Trump, fist raised after the 2024 assassination attempt, was unveiled at Trump National Doral in Miami.

Televangelist Mark Burns, who led the dedication ceremony, quickly took to X to clarify: this is not a golden calf. "This statue is not about worship. It is about honor," he said, citing resilience and patriotism.

When critics still compared it to idolatry, Burns doubled down: "We worship the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. Honor is not worship. Respect is not idolatry." He framed the statue as a reminder of divine protection over Trump's survival.

The "Don Colossus" statue was bankrolled by cryptocurrency entrepreneurs and Trump supporters, per the reports. The 15-foot bronze, coated in gold leaf, faced an uncertain future as its creator waited months for final payment.

Sculptor Alan Cottrill finally received full payment two weeks ago. "The next day I installed the statue in Florida," he told AFP.

Despite making the statue, Cottrill was not invited to the dedication ceremony. The project highlights how crypto money and political fandom can intersect in unconventional monuments.

Here's the twist nobody mentions: the Israelites weren't rebelling when they built the golden calf. In the ancient Near East, when your leader vanished for 40 days, standard protocol assumed they were dead. Building a divine image was actually the responsible thing to do to maintain cosmic order while waiting for succession.

Aaron—the high priest himself—didn't create a rival god. He threw the party 'to the LORD' (Yahweh), essentially trying to redirect a pagan ritual toward the Hebrew God. It was a theological hack that backfired spectacularly.

The alleged 'calf' wasn't even a calf—it was a full-grown bull, the symbol of the Canaanite storm god Baal. Adult deity, not baby livestock.

But the real jaw-dropper is the body count. Moses ordered the Levites to kill 3,000 Israelites—about 5% of the entire population. Brothers slaughtered brothers. By ancient standards, this was genocide-level divine discipline.

So while modern debates rage about statue symbolism, the original story's actual plot twist is that the punishment vastly overflowed the 'crime.' The Bible's first major merchandise scandal ended with roughly 3,000 more casualties than any Trump statue controversy is likely to generate.

Gold leaf covered Trump statue ‘not about worship,’ televangelist says

Gold leaf covered Trump statue ‘not about worship,’ televangelist says

Golden Trump statue is no idol for worship, pastor insists

Golden Trump statue is no idol for worship, pastor insists