THE BLACK LIVES MATTER mural painted on the street outside Trump Tower in New York City has been vandalised with red paint.
The massive painting on Fifth Avenue directly in front of President Donald Trump’s longtime base of operations was trashed on Monday morning.
According to the New York Post, an unidentified man walked up to the mural and poured red paint over the bright yellow letters - before running off when police showed up at the scene.
The mural was 'put up' last Thursday by a number of activists as well as New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who commissioned the painting.
De Blasio said the mural was put there to "send a message" to Trump, adding "this is such an important moment for our city."
The Black Lives Matter “street mural” in NYC has been vandalized by red paint. Oh no, call the police.... pic.twitter.com/mxILkIEfGS
— Andrea Catsimatidis (@AJ_Cats_) July 13, 2020
"We are making a statement today of what we value in New York City."
Trump was quick to fire back, criticising the mural for "denigrating" the local area, and slamming Mayor de Blasio focusing on painting the streets rather than stamping out crime in the city.
"NYC is cutting Police $’s by ONE BILLION DOLLARS, and yet the @NYCMayor is going to paint a big, expensive, yellow Black Lives Matter sign on Fifth Avenue, denigrating this luxury Avenue," Trump tweeted.
"This will further antagonize New York’s Finest, who LOVE New York & vividly remember the horrible BLM chant, 'Pigs In A Blanket, Fry ‘Em Like Bacon.'"
"Spend this money fighting crime instead!"
