A Picture's Worth A Thousand Rubles

Artist Brian Whiteley pulled off one of the great pranks of recent times when he hung a portrait of Vladimir Putin seated in front of an ominous White House in the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC. Hyperallergic has the full story (found via Mock Paper Scissors). Here are pics:

The portrait hung in the hotel room for approximately a month with nary a complaint or question, as guests and staff went about their business. Whiteley said he believes the portrait remained because "the guests are completely devoted to the President no matter what policy/authoritarian he embraces." A friend of Whiteley's said they both stayed in the room that night and,

"....the night they stayed in the hotel, he and the artist went out drinking and brought back half a dozen Trump supporters who were in the nation’s capital for a birthday bender. He says they invited the group, also staying in the Trump hotel, for a nightcap under the shrine of the Russian politician. (He told Hyperallergic: 'One of them even said "Putin, fuck yeah." I was blown away.')" (our emphasis)

It's hard to know with Cult 45 whether it's simple ignorance, maliciousness, or casual treason that motivates them. Perhaps it's all that and more.