Bravinlee Programs re-designed the inflatable scabby rat — an iconic symbol of labor resistance in New York City — to speak out against Trump and Trumpism.  Trump Rat holds up a mirror to the soon-to-be ex-president, a thug who daily denigrates and vilifies a long list of perceived enemies, including women, Black and Brown people, LGBTQ+ individuals, Muslims and other religious minorities in the U.S., migrants, workers and the poor, veterans, journalists, political opponents, and dissenters. Team Trump Rat deploys this two-storey-high caricature in highly visible, public spaces, in reaction to current events, in collaboration with other artists and activists. Trump Rat was first deployed in New York City in the winter of 2017, and was in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, November 7, 2020, when the presidential election was called for Biden/Harris. Overjoyed people spontaneously lifted and paraded Trump Rat in full view of global media, the public, and the White House itself. 

Team Trump Rat includes artist Jeffrey Beebe, who originated the design along with New York City gallerist John Post Lee of Bravinlee Programs; Mac Yates at Inflatable Images, Brunswick, Ohio; Chris Dunn at the New York Civil Liberties Union, who provided legal advice; wranglers and organizers George de Castro Day, photographer and activist, and Wendy Brandes, writer and activist. We have worked with artists and activists including Rise and Resist, Robin Bell of Bell Visuals, Brian Whiteley, Gays Against Guns, Shut It Down DC, Remove Trump, and more.