Donald Trump has been accused of building an Old Testament-style ‘idol’ to himself, after a 22-foot gold statue was unveiled at Mar-a-Lago.

The statue depicts Trump raising his fist, reminiscent of the moment he avoided a bullet whilst on the campaign trail in Butler.

Evangelical Pastor Mark Burns presided over its unveiling, describing the moment as a "celebration of life”.

The President did not attend the unveiling in person, but delivered a message over the phone.

“I want to thank Pastor Mark, he’s a good pastor,” the President said. “I know [the statue] was done out of love, I just want to give you my love… everybody is taking pictures of it.”

Trump ended the voice note, saying: “God bless America.”

Users on X have been quick to describe it as “heretical”, which Burns denied.

“Let me be clear: this is not a golden calf,” he said.

“This statue was not created for worship. It was created as a symbol of resilience, patriotism, courage, and gratitude. It was created to honor a man whom many may disagree with, but millions of Americans believe has done extraordinary things to make this nation stronger.”

It comes weeks after the President received backlash for sharing an AI image, seemingly depicting him as Jesus. Trump denied criticism of the image, insisting that he believed it to show him as a Red Cross doctor.