Watch: Kamala Harris mural painted over to dismay of onlooker
Credit: glowinggodess27/TikTok
A mural of Kamala Harris in Atlanta, Georgia, has been painted over just days after her election defeat.
The mural, located in the city’s West End, featured a portrait of the vice-president flanked by pink roses against a blue backdrop.
It was painted in late October and was one of four murals in the city commissioned by the Harris campaign urging people to vote on election day.
Footage of a man using an extended roller to paint over the artwork with red paint just days after Donald Trump swept to victory has sparked anger, with some social media commenters branding the move “disrespectful”.
One person said: “There are so many reasons why it should be left up and she is still currently the VP.”
Another said that covering up the mural was “erasing” Ms Harris’s legacy.
Others were supportive of the mural being removed, with one commenter saying: “The Democrats are already looking to new candidates for 2028 and Kamala will fade into history and soon be forgotten.”
Large murals dedicated to notable figures have long been a staple of beautification schemes across the city.
Other notable street art includes a mural of Martin Luther King Jr, the civil rights leader, who was born in Atlanta.
While the suburbs of Atlanta turned out for Ms Harris in the election, large shifts to the Right across the rest of Georgia helped Donald Trump win back the swing state after it turned blue for Joe Biden in 2020.
Chris Clark, the artist who created the Harris mural, responded to the flood of social media attention its removal has received by saying the artwork was “always meant to be” temporary.
“The murals are meant to only be temporary advertisements, not last a lifetime,” he posted on Instagram. “The trolls have already begun visiting my social media pages. They are so happy and joyous to see it come down.
“No matter who won or who you voted for, that mural is a part of history and I’m proud to have worked on it. On to the next.”