Overview
- The piece, created by Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen, shows President Trump holding a hole-riddled golden dome like an umbrella as water falls from model missiles overhead on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
- Organizers say the holes represent a defense that would fail under real-world missile attacks and argue the proposal wastes public money.
- The Golden Dome is pitched as a space network of sensors and interceptors to spot and shoot down intercontinental missiles, which Trump said last year would be fully operational by 2029.
- Responding to the installation, White House spokesman Davis Ingle dismissed the critics and said Trump would not waver in protecting Americans.
- Reporting cited by The Independent says the administration has not tapped $23 billion approved by Congress, leaving only piecemeal Pentagon contracts, while cost estimates run from up to $3.6 trillion (Federal News Network) to more than $4 trillion (installation advocates).