SEE IT: Trump-like golden calf in the National Mall protests upcoming evangelical summit

WASHINGTON (7News) — A 15-foot balloon of a large golden calf resembling former President Donald Trump floated its way onto the National Mall Wednesday.

It didn't stay long, having been taken down by U.S. Capitol Police while a 7News photographer was there. Still, the balloon mixed Christian and Jewish beliefs on idolatry with the 2024 election, protesting an upcomingconservative summit.

The balloon was put up by Faithful America, a self-proclaimed grassroots Christian social justice group, as one of two displays protesting Trump and the Family Research Council's (FRC) three-day "Pray, Vote, Stand Summit."

RELATED |43-foot nude Trump statue assembled just outside of Las Vegas, sparking conversation

The event, hosted at the Omni Washington Hotel, is an annual gathering of the powerful pro-life organization that draws in pastors, politicians, and other policymakers to forward evangelical efforts fronted by Trump and his reelection.

Trump spoke at the event in 2023 along with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and politician Vivek Ramaswamy, to name a few. It's unclear if Trump will speak when the summit begins on Oct. 3.

The Southern Poverty Law Center designated FRC as a hate group for its anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. The group has been criticized for advancing Christian Nationalism, the idea that America was founded directly on scriptures from the Christian Bible and that the modern government should base much of its legislation off oftentimes far-right understandings of the text.

According to the book of Exodus in the Bible, the golden calf was created by followers of Moses after he left to retrieve the Ten Commandments from God on the mountain. As the story goes, Moses destroyed the calf after returning, frustrated over a symbol of idolatry.

“They are instead replacing Christ with Trump and his pledge to be a vengeful dictator on day one, embracing his conspiracy theories, cruelty, and January 6-style violence of far-right Christian nationalism," Rev. Nathan Empsall, Faithful America’s executive director said in a statement. "In the case of the MAGA movement, that idol is Trump – but thankfully, we also know that millions of Christians continue to stand for love and justice for all, rejecting MAGA’s idolatry and opposing the would-be dictator and his court pastors’ hijacking of our faith.”

After this article was published, FRC President Tony Perkins issued a statement on social media:

"Faithless America and their idol would have been better suited for the Democratic Convention in Chicago, where, like the wayward Israelites offering up their children to Molech, Planned Parenthood performed nearly two dozen abortions."

The group said it plans to resurrect the balloon on Thursday near the hotel where the summit will take place.

This inflatable from Faithful America comes days after a 43-foot, three-ton nude statue of Trump was placed just outside of Las Vegas in late September.