Acclaimed Filmmaker Steven C. Barber Hands Over Thomas Jefferson Statue to President Trump in the Rose Garden
“Bringing Thomas Jefferson to the White House — and specifically to the Rose Garden, as President Trump himself suggested — exceeds anything I ever imagined.”— Steven C. BarberLOS ANGELES , CA, UNITED STATES, July 21, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Steven Barber, who oversees the 45th and 47th Presidential monument project dedicated to President Donald John Trump, has become the first individual in 250 years to erect a monument for a sitting Commander-in-Chief while that president remains in office. The President Trump statue was delivered to the President at the Trump International golf course in Palm Beach, Florida, on April 1, 2025.
Barber also arranged for a statue of Thomas Jefferson — the author of the Declaration of Independence and the third U.S. president — to be created. This remarkable monument was designed and built by George and Mark Lundeen of Loveland, Colorado, the nation’s premier monument makers. The Jefferson statue was presented to the President last Thursday at the White House in the Rose Garden, where it will remain.
Mr. Barber is an award-winning filmmaker and the founder of Vanilla Fire Productions, based in Santa Monica, California. He has produced more than ten feature-length documentaries, earning three Oscar short-list nominations. He has also commissioned several of America’s most notable monuments, including the Apollo 11 Monument at the Kennedy Space Center, the Apollo 13 Monument at the Houston Space Center, and the Sally Ride Monument at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
Barber remarked, “Bringing Thomas Jefferson to the White House — and specifically to the Rose Garden, as President Trump himself suggested — exceeds anything I ever imagined.”
Barber added, “The President even called our workshop and left a voicemail for George Lundeen, thanking him and praising his skill as a sculptor. I thought that went well beyond what was expected, and it was truly wonderful to hear.”
Mr. Barber is now moving forward with his second President Trump Monument, located in Huntington Beach on a seven-acre property called Patriot Park, adjacent to the Huntington Beach police station. He is collaborating with former mayor Pat Burns to have the monument completed and unveiled before the November election.
Barber is actively seeking the funds needed to finish and unveil the monument in California prior to the November election, and he has extended an invitation to the President of the United States to attend the unveiling ceremony in November.
Barber stated, “Once you taste purpose, the taste of simply existing is completely unsatisfying.”
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