US: Trump’s Damaged Walk of Fame Star Reflects Deepening Political Divide

Los Angeles: Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame has become an enduring symbol of America’s political polarization, repeatedly targeted by vandalism, protests, and public anger. Trump received the star in 2007 for his work on the reality show The Apprentice and as a producer of the Miss Universe pageants.

The star was severely damaged in October 2016, when a man attacked it with a sledgehammer and pickaxe, and it was destroyed again in July 2018 by another vandal using a pickaxe. It has also been spray-painted, spat on, and repeatedly defaced, while confrontations between Trump supporters and critics have occurred nearby.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which administers the Walk of Fame, has resisted calls to remove the star, saying that once installed, a star becomes part of the Walk’s “historic fabric.” The organization has never permanently removed a star from the landmark.

Analysts say the battered star is more than a damaged sidewalk monument: it illustrates the intensity of public feeling around Trump, the widening gap between his supporters and opponents, and the increasingly confrontational nature of American political expression