Summary Details

A statue of Christopher Columbus has been placed on the grounds of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House, according to the Associated Press, continuing President Donald Trump’s administration’s push to recognize the explorer at the center of a long-running U.S. debate over public memory.

The Columbus statue placed near the White House is a replica of one that was thrown into Baltimore’s Inner Harbor in 2020, when protests erupted during Trump’s first term after the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. The incident occurred amid nationwide protests against institutional racism.

The AP reported that the statue is made mostly of marble and was created by sculptor Will Hemsley, a maker based in Centreville on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. AP also reported that the statue is owned by the Italian American Organizations United, which agreed to loan it to the federal government for placement at or near the White House.

In a post on X, the White House said that “In this White House, Christopher Columbus is a hero, and President Trump will ensure he’s honored as such for generations to come.” The AP reported that John Pica, a Maryland lobbyist and president of Italian American Organizations United, said the statue would be able to “peacefully shine and be protected.”

The AP also described Columbus as a figure whose modern-day recognition has increasingly been challenged. It said that, while Trump’s administration endorses a traditional view of Columbus as a leader of the 1492 mission linked in popular narratives to the start of European colonization, others have highlighted Columbus as an example of Western Europe’s conquest of the New World and its effects on Native peoples.

The placement comes as Columbus Day has faced competition in parts of the country from Indigenous Peoples Day. AP reported that in recent years some people, institutions and government entities have moved to replace Columbus Day observations, and that President Joe Biden in 2021 marked Indigenous Peoples Day with a proclamation.

Trump, the AP reported, has rejected the shift and complained that Columbus has been harmed by what he described as politically motivated attempts to rewrite history. AP said Trump has dismissed the effort as coming from “left-wing arsonists” bending history, and he previously declared: “I’m bringing Columbus Day back from the ashes.” MSI previously reported that Trump planned to move a Columbus statue replica near the White House.

AP further reported that Trump’s administration has tied its Columbus messaging to complaints about Democrats and the Italian community. AP quoted Trump as saying Democrats did “everything possible to destroy Christopher Columbus, his reputation, and all of the Italians that love him so much.”