Local artist Bill Secunda not only describes Donald Trump as "tough as nails" after the former president shook off an assassination attempt here, he created a life-size sculpture to hammer the idiom home.
Secunda was so inspired by Trump's actions, in which he raised his fist defiantly and exhorted rallygoers to "Fight, fight, fight" moments after being grazed by an assassin's bullet, that he built a unique likeness of the former president out of nails. Secunda unveiled the statue at the Butler Farm Show on Saturday, the same venue where the deadly shooting took place on July 13.
"I tried to give him the expression of 'Let's fight,' but let's do it nonviolent[ly]. Let’s do it right," Secunda told Fox News Digital at his garage studio.
Like many Americans, Secunda was inspired seeing Trump raising his fist in the air as Secret Service agents whisked him to safety seconds after shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks clipped his ear with a rifle shot.
His carefully curated installation – made up of around 4,000 twisted and bent metal nails – portrays Trump in a light navy suit with his arm upraised.
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"I tried to give him that look of firm determination," Secunda said. "When he got shot a lot of Butler people, they didn't run away. They were upset [but] they were going to stay there and make sure he was OK."
"I hope [the statue] helps people get a little bit more strength," he continued. "This guy is tough, he's strong. You know, maybe we need to be a little stronger. This is kind of a tough time for our country and I kind of hope it helps. People were upset that it happened here, and I think they're more upset that it happened at all."
The 6-foot 3-inch high sculpture is made entirely from traditional flat-headed cut nails which Secunda says are typically driven into concrete. It's a technique Secunda often uses in his artwork.
"I build an armature first and then I start welding each nail, a lot of them need heating up and [are] bent into place," Secunda said of his nail-based structures, many of which pepper his expansive garden, including a life-size moose. He’s made plenty of other life-size animals during his 30-year career, including a bear, a bison and a lion, while other installations include a giant tin man made out of wood that features imposingly on his property.
"The hair was a lot of fun," Secunda says of Trump’s iconic hairdo in his piece. "I did a lot of research on his ears and a lot of research on his hair. Once I got it formed right, I used a brazing rod and welded it on there to give it the yellow [finish]."
He says the Trump structure is his first politically themed creation, although he's also made two giant statues of Jesus Christ on a cross.
Secunda had a head start on his latest project. In 2020, he created a sculpture depicting Trump ripping open his shirt like Superman to reveal a gold-colored letter "T." After the assassination attempt, his cousin suggested he revamp it to reflect the shooting, so Secunda got back to work.
He removed Trump’s right arm and then re-welded it to show him now raising it with a clenched fist. He got rid of the "T" on his chest, re-made the shirt and chest area and then finally burned a hole in his right ear to represent the bullet striking it.
Secunda says he turned down an offer to sell the original piece back then, yearning to some day proudly show his handiwork to Trump. His hope now is that if the former president returns to Butler for another campaign rally, as he has hinted he will, he’ll finally get that opportunity after all these years.
"I turned down a sale a long time ago on it just because I wanted to see if I could show it to [Trump]. After all these years… maybe the reason I still had it was to make it better… This is a much better message."
