A bus that ferried Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump between Iowa campaign stops this summer will be transformed into a vehicle for expressing anti-Trump sentiment, courtesy of anonymous artist t.Rutt.
The bus is currently on the road, headed from Iowa to Philadelphia, where the artist lives. It will then travel to Miami, where it will end up this December at the new Conception Art Fair, which is owned and run by women.
“The notion is to kind of drive Mr. Trump possibly out of the race,” punned artist David Gleeson in a conversation with USA Today. He is one of three artists working for t.Rutt to prepare the bus for its southerly journey.
The Trump name has been partly painted over and sections have been incorporated into the new t.Rutt logo on the bus. The artist’s name is inspired by Marcel Duchamp’s “R. Mutt,” the signature on Duchamp’s readymade, Fountain, explains the artist on his website.
The Donald’s campaign had leased the bus from Iowa businessman Steve Drake, according to the Des Moines Register; when the lease was up, the owner hoped to cash in on Trump mania by selling it to a supporter. It was initially offered on Craigslist for $15,000, says the artist’s press representative. When the artist learned about it from a recent segment on the Rachel Maddow show, he immediately got on a plane and, posing as a Trump supporter, subsequently bought the bus.
All along the trip, people will be invited to throw fruit punch at Trump banners on the side of the bus, in reference to Trump’s speculation that Fox News host Megyn Kelly was rough on him during the first Republican presidential debate because she was menstruating. The bus will be marked with the slogan #MakeFruitPunchGreatAgain.
The artist will also invite people to write lines from the Constitution on the bus in their native languages, a jab at the candidate’s positions on immigration and birthright citizenship.
“The guy who sold him the bus is trying to track him down,” said the artist’s representative. “He’s quite literally pissed,” the rep told artnet News by phone.
Other artists have also spoken out on Trump in various ways, including Mexican-born artist Pablo Helguera and Mexican artist Martin Soto Climent. Other artists have created a Trump butt plug and a Trump piñata, while street artist Hanksy painted a mural depicting the real estate magnate as a pile of poop.