Trumps Toilets – A One Shot Story

By Andrew

14 July, 2026

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One Shot Story

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Documentary Photography
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Photography is art, I don’t feel like there is any room left to debate otherwise. Most detractors who argued otherwise are long since dead and buried. Photography and other more abstract or temporary forms of art can have a fascinating interplay that I think is often under stated or completely ignored. A piece of performance art for example may only be preformed a few times for modest crowds at one location. Similar with protest art, it can all too quickly be torn down or moved to limit the offense it may cause or silence the protesters. If no photos are taken the art may fade into memory quite quickly, its message lost to the ages. While this may drift in to the realm of documentary photography I still feel that does not change the pure, live, experimental art concept. I have a very personal connection to one such event. One that I may be the only person to document or remember.

Way back in January of 2017 Donald Trump came to power as the 45th president of the United States. There was some fan fare and simultaneously some of the largest protest seen in Washington DC in decades. Most of these protests were exactly what one would expect, people marching down streets with signs that things that might be clever if they had not already existed inmate format for several months. But some of these protests were far more interesting and stray into what I would call forms of ‘protest art’ and I have seen no reference to it any where outside of the initial “display.”

The art in question was a series of urinal screens with an image on Donald Trump stenciled on them. These were stealthily taken into the National Gallery of art and placed in at least one bathroom. I do not know how many bathroom were hit or if some similar display was placed in to the women’s rooms. I also do not know if other building were hit with the protest art. I have no idea if any of the screens were saved but suspect some were, though I doubt they are on public display.

I bring this whole event up because despite its very memorable nature it seems to have fallen into total obscurity. But it has not been completely lost to the sands of time, because I shot a photo on my iPhone. It is probably one of the few pieces of evidence this protest took place. Which is a shame because the idea is pretty clever and clearly took a fair amount of time and money. I don’t have much more to say I just felt the need to share this and also explain why I feel the photos are important. They are not going to win a prize but I think it is a protest worth remembering. Sadly my Iphone photos are not that great, despite that they do preserve this unique piece of protest art in the wild.

As with may of my writings I can not claim there is some clever thesis statement to this whole article, or that I have some brilliant take that will change everyones minds and lead to a new era of enlightenment. I guess my take away is that protests and demonstrations are important and ‘we’ (as a society) should pay attention and ‘we’ (as in photographers) should engage with these movements. Get out there, pay attention, look for what no one else sees and maybe read the Monkey Wrench Gang.

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About The Author

By Andrew
I have been a photographer for a while shooting both digital and film. I travel a lot and love to photograph new places. I am a big fan of home development and classic Nikon cameras.
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Comments

Erik Brammer on Trumps Toilets – A One Shot Story

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

This is quite interesting. It would be very interesting to know how fast these piss mats were removed and whether the time elapsed correlates with the political attitude of the cleaning personnel. :-)
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Andrew replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

I was working there at the time and reported them, I think It took a while for them to send some one to pull them out. Glad that was not in my job description.

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Ibraar Hussain on Trumps Toilets – A One Shot Story

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

Hahaha made me laugh!! Great post!
But is photography an art? It could be an art or could be a used to record, much like sketching.
Paparazzis normally are classed as “Pro Photographers” but take pictures of Kim Kardashian in her birthday suit -or David beckham shopping I wouldn’t call that art
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Ibraar Hussain replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

But I do agree with the others who object to this post it is a polarizing post which will alienate many people I may laugh but as all parties and politicians are the same to me and worthy of ridicule - Inc The Left Dems Labour BLM or whatever faction But others have different opinions

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Ibraar Hussain replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

In hindsight

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David Garcia replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

I agree. It’s a disgusting photo. It’s not an “important “ photo by any means. I don’t like it. The smell.

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Andrew replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

If the photo sparked a sense of smell in you, that image has some real power. It's also strange you felt the need to comment on such an unimportant photo. Everything you say lends credence to the fact this is a powerful and important photo and you will remember it long after seeing it. We all know the same is not true for the landscapes, old cars and poor attempts at street photography that litter IG.

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David G. on Trumps Toilets – A One Shot Story

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

The semi-hidden author of this posting isn't sure of the reason for his effort.
I concur.
Has he never heard of opposition shenanigans?
The larger question that is thus posed is, why mention it at all?
Click bait?
What a pithy waste of ether.
If this medium is intended as a thinly disguised partisan platform, perhaps other venues are more suited for photographic material of substance.
This one's quite flushable.
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Bill Richardson replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

I agree with David G.

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Martin replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

I can hardly see a thinly disguised partisan platform to honest. And I won't further comment.

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Kainoa replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

Amen to that. I've commented on the political rubbish here before. There are plenty of political forums for people to chirp on. Unless one is documenting an event-and doing so from a non-partisan view-post elsewhere. I, and I know I'm not alone, would like to have a place free of politicking.

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Andrew replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

semi-hidden?

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JA replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

You might not be alone but neither are your opinions unanimous. I would rather somewhere was open and free to express opinion which you have been allowed to do than shut down everything that might offend.

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Bill Richardson on Trumps Toilets – A One Shot Story

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

Objectionable photo, in my opinion--a urinal. I think this post is a statement against Trump. Whether I like Trump or not doesn't matter. This post seems to me to be a veiled statement. I never knew of that incident with the urinals, but now I do. That is probably true for many other people. So why did Andrew post this? To give it more exposure, for its message. That is my opinion.
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Andrew replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

I find it objectionable that people take photos of the homeless with $14,000 dollar camera setups. I take it as a veiled statement (ignorant perhaps) that they think they are better than those homeless people they have chosen to photograph. Wether it stems from overly obvious financial standing or because of life opportunities granted to them they mistake for success, it is still a matter of social dynamic that is very one sided. Those are the facts.

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Brian Bednarek on Trumps Toilets – A One Shot Story

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

I remeber seeing them in the Men's Room at NY Penn Station!!!
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Andrew replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

I figured it was a wider thing but never heard about more or saw any evidence elsewhere.

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Andy C on Trumps Toilets – A One Shot Story

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

" and ‘we’ (as in photographers) should engage with these movements."

Disagree.
This is low hanging fruit.
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Andrew replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

You are free to disagree, but where do most of your photos end up? Will anyone bother to comment on them? Will anyone want to look at them in a year? 10 years???

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Andy C replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

Comments? Who will see it? Sounds like your brain is fried by social media.

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Andrew replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

I meant "Comments" in a very broad way such as criticism and open discussion (exactly what this post has achieved). The fact you fall back to social media comments and likes really just serves to prove my point that you don't think big picture or long term.

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Dan on Trumps Toilets – A One Shot Story

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

I'm not sure of your nationality and frankly, I don't care. The photo and post IMHO, are in extremely poor taste.

This is a UK based site, designed and administered by UK citizens. I wonder if a post similar to this one would've been published had Queen Elizabeth's or King Charles' likeness had been installed in a urinal in he UK, (or anywhere else for that matter)?
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Ibraar Hussain replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

To be honest I don’t think it would’ve been a problem. I don’t think Britishers care too much about politicians/royalty, and frequently mock them. Look up ‘spitting image’ on YouTube

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BG replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

There is a huge difference in your comparison. Queen Elizabeth and King Charles are largely respected and did things to better the lives of their fellow citizens. Both were and are true patriots. As for the vile and self-serving felon in the White House, the urinal is perfect.

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JA replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

It would have been published because we wouldn't take offence of something like that and as a nation we take the piss relentlessly.

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Tim Bradshaw replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

I mean, 'God save the Queen'[*] was played in the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics: despite some recent backsliding we're kind of over the whole deference thing now. Comparing the US president to the British monarch is just weird, by the way: they are not even slightly similar positions. [*] No, not the dirge, the one whose words read, in part, 'God save the Queen / she ain't no human being / there is no future / in England's dreaming'.

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Andrew replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

I don't have such strong opinions, but given trumps obsession with golden toilets, I think there is irony on several levels of this action.

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Ibraar Hussain replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

Exactly!

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Kainoa on Trumps Toilets – A One Shot Story

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

Enough already. This is not the first partisan political post here. Always one sided too. Can we not have ONE place free from this? This isn't documentary photography. It's low-brow, low IQ, rubbish-not even 'photography' but a snapshot on a phone of something many would find objectionable. To paraphrase-the best journalists leave you guessing as to their political leanings. Stick to photography or keep losing subscribers.
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Justin Kingery replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

You can be free of this anytime you like. Close your browser.

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Andrew replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

Low-brow, is in the eye of the beholder. P.S. "snapshots on a phone" have won international photography prizes and made magazine covers, so I think this just shows that you really don't know much about journalism or documentary photography.

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Kainoa replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

YA that's a professional way to handle things. Great response justin

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David Pauley on Trumps Toilets – A One Shot Story

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

I don't object to photography that engages meaningfully with politics, and in fact hugely admire some of the pieces that have been shared here this year (such as the excellent and courageous piece on the Minneapolis protests -- it still blows me away). This piece however seems utterly shallow to me. Can't really see anything redeeming in it, and I am ten thousand percent anti-Trump. Should it be censored? Of course not. But let's not pretend it's "Guernica."
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Ibraar Hussain replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

Agreed. I passingly laughed at the post as I was more interested in the ‘photography is art’ aspect. Then in hindsight I looked at the responses…

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Omar Tibi replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

Add me in as another voice. I normally don't enjoy criticizing others, but I feel like this does a disservice to the quality of 35mmc's content. Especially when, like you mentioned David, we recently had the guy who shared his film photos from Minneapolis around the time those people were murdered. I don't want to shut anyone up regardless of whether I agree or disagree, so it is what it is, but I just wanted to share my dissatisfaction.

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Andrew replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

Things happen. You not liking them or being afraid of them, does not undo them.

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JA replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

How is this different it is a photograph of another form of protest?

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Justin Kingery on Trumps Toilets – A One Shot Story

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

The pearl-clutching in the comments is hilarious. It's almost as if some people think photography hasn't always been political.

Love the contribution!
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Andrew replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

Im not even super political. I still find this a fascinating protest that seems to be lost to time, and that seems like a loss on human history and creativity. I was trying to highlight the importance of DOCUMENTING in an eye catching manner that the average person will look at and have some thoughts on, and perhaps be moved to do themselves. I guess those upset comments could be a form of success in that department.

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Kainoa replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

"Pearl clutching" Get over yourself. Tell everyone-how is this good photography? What does it add to the community's knowledge base? I am sure YOU love it--and plenty of other things. But this rubbish belongs on social media. You say "close your browser" - but maybe most people actually enjoy the good content here..and don't want it tainted with trash like this.

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Andrew replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

Explain how this is "trash" or failing that how it is objectively bad? is there any difference between this and the dozens of one shot stories that all amount to a mediocre to bad photo with 2 paragraphs of "I saw cool thing." The fact that this post received well of 30 comments (not including my own) shows that it has captured the imagination and sparked more commentary in the community far more than most "safe" photos. And isn't art all about imagination and commentary?

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Gary Smith replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

Apparently the community owner thought the submission worthy of inclusion. I don't recall ever seeing any of your articles.

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Gary Smith replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

NOTE - my 14/07/2026 reply is directed at Kainoa's response above.

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Hamish Gill on Trumps Toilets – A One Shot Story

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

I suspect this might be a culture clash - seemed like a bit of harmless fun to me
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Alexandre Kreisman replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

For me too As far as political traits on the image, as long as you have a political person who is more concerned about having his name and image everywhere, search pictures of nothing to do with politics. This picture has more to do with a stupid man more than any politics

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Andrew replied:

Comment posted: 14/07/2026

I think so as well. Trump has had enough controversy that this is pretty tame compared to some of the protest art I have seen of him. And a lot of that art was produced and displayed in Europe despite what some commenters seem to be aware of.

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Oliver G. on Trumps Toilets – A One Shot Story

Comment posted: 15/07/2026

I don't want to judge whether the photo is to be understood as art or bad taste.
Everyone can decide that for themselves.
However, I see it as a classic documentary image at a time when something is changing in the USA and has already changed which I reject more objectionably and even more than “Trump's toilets” photo.
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Andrew replied:

Comment posted: 15/07/2026

I am glad someone actually read the post.

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Scott Ferguson on Trumps Toilets – A One Shot Story

Comment posted: 15/07/2026

I think the dialogue on this post might be more interesting than the photograph itself, and perhaps that is your intention, Andrew? I wholly agree with Hamish that it's a harmless bit of fun, but I also agree with David that it's a bit shallow as a photograph and perhaps as a political statement. Not to mention old news! I think the stakes have gone up since pranks like this were newsworthy, with people being gunned down in the streets and all that. I'm not sure I agree with the people who suggest 35mmc should be a place that is free of politics, as I think politics have become unavoidable in today's world. Whether I make it explicitly or not, like I did with the photos I took at a Pussy Riot show or No Kings Protests, I think every post I have made on 35mmc can probably be seen as making some kind of political statement. But at the same time, I'm also trying to get better at making well-made photographs within the overwhelmingly politicized environment we are all submerged in, so that the photos themselves are interesting as images. Winter landscapes of the Canadian Rockies or Iceland show the impact of climate change on shrinking glaciers or other parts of our environment, photos of the quirky people I meet in NYC are making the point that we can and should share our streets, our cities, our county with people who don't look like us, worship like us or love like us. But I appreciate the post, and the conversation that has ensued.
Best to all,
s
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JA replied:

Comment posted: 15/07/2026

"but I also agree with David that it's a bit shallow as a photograph" To be fair i don't think i would be breaking out the vintage camera gear, cracking open roll of 120 and snapping away in a public toilets. I am very much in the harmless camp.

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Andrew replied:

Comment posted: 15/07/2026

Yes, you saw through my ploy. This was largely intended to shock and spark discussion, but saying that up front kind of kills the conversation. I have also been working on along term border project but have found most of the more left leaning outlets that should by all accounts want to see it and help spread the images become very closed off and evasive when approached. I don't think most people really understand what is going on in America right not... I don't but at least I am not afraid to ask.

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Scott Ferguson replied:

Comment posted: 15/07/2026

Urinals are by their very nature, shallow.

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JA on Trumps Toilets – A One Shot Story

Comment posted: 15/07/2026

I am going to put forth a controversial opinion...

Photography isn't art.

It is a medium that can be used to express an artistic endeavour. It can equally be a preserver of historic fact.
And it can be a tool for communication.
A memory aid.
And a research assistant.
I ahbe used broad spectrum photography to track dune erosion, it definitely not art
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Andrew replied:

Comment posted: 15/07/2026

That sounds cool to me, I would lake to see that. Look up the work of Adam Summers on fish. His photos of fish and ray specimens are stunning and sold as prints.

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Walter Reumkens on Trumps Toilets – A One Shot Story

Comment posted: 15/07/2026

Why shouldn’t you take photos of urinals? In all sorts of shapes, colours and designs. Just like chairs and other objects. Trivial photos, everyday poetry. For a change, no ‘Americans à la Robert Frank’ and whatever else they’re called. There are more than enough copycats here. I just wonder what the comments would say if Joe Biden were in the picture? A European should be allowed to ask that question. :-))))
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Andrew replied:

Comment posted: 15/07/2026

I do enjoy photos that make the mundane beautiful or memorable. I too wonder what people would think if it was Biden or Obama,

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Oliver G. replied:

Comment posted: 15/07/2026

The predecessors probably did not cross a red line in domestic and foreign policy. However, the toilet photo shows that a head of state crossed a red line in political leadership.

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Tim Bradshaw on Trumps Toilets – A One Shot Story

Comment posted: 21/07/2026

All the people decrying this are, I'm sure, aware of Fountain. Perhaps they are not aware that it was photographed by Alfred Stieglitz in 1917. Perhaps they also do not know Edward Weston's wonderful Excusado.

This perhaps is not as significant as those pieces, but it is certainly following in a tradition established by some very great photographers over more than a century.
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