A preview video released on Monday by Eric Trump showcased a striking feature planned for Donald Trump’s forthcoming presidential library in Miami, Florida. The footage depicted the 79-year-old former U.S. president cast in gold, raising his fist before a seated audience under an oversized presidential seal.

Newsom Draws Parallels to Authoritarian Iconography

Governor Gavin Newsom quickly reacted to the imagery on his press office X account. He noted that the gold statue bore a strong resemblance to statues erected for leaders of past regimes around the globe.

Newsom shared a collage comparing Trump’s proposed figure with several historical examples of leader iconography. One comparison featured a gold statue of North Korea’s founding leader, Kim Il Sung. Kim Il Sung’s rule established a rigid hereditary dictatorship characterized by repression and tight state control.

Further Comparisons to Global Figures

The collage also included an image of Mao Zedong, former Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party. Chairman Mao’s leadership campaigns, including the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, resulted in mass famine and political purges.

A third comparison was made to Saparmurat Niyazov, the Turkmen leader. Niyazov famously cultivated an elaborate personality cult, featuring gold statues of himself, strict censorship, and sweeping public life controls.

Trump Library: A Spectacle Over Archive

Trump’s long-planned presidential library, slated for Miami, is shaping up less like a traditional archive and more as a multimedia showcase centered on his political brand. Supporters of the project have framed it as a bold modernization of the presidential library concept.

Early fundraising and planning have emphasized spectacle, digital displays, and curated narratives of the Trump presidency, rather than a facility focused on conventional research. The newly released footage appears to reinforce this focus.

Visual Elements of the Proposed Landmark

Beyond the statue, the video suggested a massive waterfront spectacle. Features included “TRUMP” branding prominently displayed on a tower, gold escalators, multiple aircraft housed inside, replicas of the Oval Office, and a planned ballroom.

Eric Trump shared the video, stating he had “poured my heart and soul” into the project over the past six months. He described the landmark as a “lasting testament to an amazing man, an amazing developer, and the greatest President our Nation has ever known.”