East Tenn. State University art exhibit depicts Trump alongside swastikas, Ku Klux Klan hoods as GOP lawmakers demand its shutdown: Left-wing propaganda
An exhibition of politically charged paintings — including depictions of Donald Trump alongside swastikas and white supremacy hoods — at a public Tennessee university has Republican lawmakers outraged and demanding it be shutdown immediately.The temporary art exhibit — housed at the Reece Museum on East Tennessee State University’s campus — includes controversial imagery comparing President-elect Trump to Hitler and the Ku Klux Klan, and tying other prominent conservatives to fascists and extremist groups.One painting that drew particular ire depicts House Speaker Mike Johnson in front of a swastika morphing into a Christian cross, while another work showcases an American flag stitched in the characteristic shape of a KKK hood.The works are part of the university’s 2024 Fletcher Exhibit, which this year held open submissions for art exploring “societal and political concerns” and “current issues that affect contemporary culture,” according to its website.But Republican lawmakers as far away as Washington, D.C.felt some of the entries amounted to little more than “extremely dangerous left-wing propaganda.”“I, along with many students at ETSU, find the exhibit disturbing and hateful,” wrote US Rep.
Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) in a letter to the university Friday voicing his “serious concerns” and demanding the exhibit — scheduled to end on Dec.6 — be closed sooner.Republican state Sen.
Rusty Crowe joined in the outrage, saying Americans have freedom of speech, but that sometimes “freedom of speech has consequences.”“The consequences in this case, in my view, should be that these people that approve of this on campus should not be on our campus.It’s just not representative of our Northeast Tennessee spirit.
It’s hateful.It’s divisive.
It’s not good,” Crowe told WJHL.US Rep.Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.) called the painting of Speaker Johnson “an abhorrent mockery of my Christian faith” that “associates many of my c...