'America's Day as the Racist': Billboard vandalized with anti-Trump message amid racist tweet controversy
Looming large over two major highways in Louisville, Ky., a billboard was vandalized to read “Trump 2020: America’s Day as the Racist” in response to President Donald Trump’s tweet tirade against four freshmen congresswomen.
The Outfront Media billboard, on the northbound side of Interstate 65, had previously advertised FOX Sports 2’s coverage of a horse race, reading “America’s Day at the Races.” But a pair of local anti-Trump graffiti artists altered the sign overnight for Tuesday morning commuters to see, signing their work with their iconic tag, “Resist45.”
Louisville locals were torn online about the political message, with some supporting the political activists’ work and others condemning it.
“Keep RESISTING!” one Facebook user wrote with the hashtag “fpotus.”
Others commented that the vandalism “makes me sick,” chastising the artists for defacing the city.
“That's what the other side does, destroys private property! We will remember in 2020 schmucks,” one Facebook user replied.
The president has been widely criticized by politicians on both sides of the aisle for the tweet storm he directed at a group of progressive Democratic freshman congresswomen known as “the squad,” including Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Detroit.
Trump called for the women of color to “go back” to their “totally broken” and “crime infested” countries where they came from. However, all the women but Rep. Omar, a Somali refugee, were born in the United States. The billboard’s new political message was erected the day the House will vote on a resolution condemning Trump’s racist comments.
However, the billboard was soon replaced with a WHAS11 Wake Up advertisement, WHAS11 reported.
Billboard on 64W coming into downtown Louisville. KY may be a red state but Louisville knows what's up. pic.twitter.com/UXGzmZ7uxW
— amy gesenhues (@amygesenhues) March 10, 2017
This isn’t the first political message the group has boldly painted in public. The graffiti artists only known as “Artist” and “Activist” started illegally tagging billboards with anti-Trump messages across Louisville after his election in 2016, reported LEO Weekly.
The name of their political activist group references their resistance to the 45th President of the United States and its administration. Previous work has tackled other contentious issues with bold-faced messages, such as “Kill the NRA” and “Abolish ICE,” all painted in places visible from major Kentucky roads.
When asked about how they felt about defacing private property, Artist told LEO Weekly, “It’s not OK. Everything we do, you know, there’s some contradictions in life. I feel like it’s a necessary evil a little bit. We’re getting the message out.”
Their work has been so prominent in the city that it’s inspired a bit of guerrilla graffiti warfare. Pro-Trump vigilante artists painted “Love Trump USA” on a bridge over Interstate 64 East, only to have Resist 45 paint over their message with “Bernie 2020,” the Louisville Courier-Journal reported.
The Louisville Metro Police Department and Resist45 did not answer Yahoo Lifestyle’s requests for comment. Outfront Media, the company that owns many of the billboards Resist45 has vandalized, also did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
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