U.S. President Donald Trump has installed a statue of Christopher Columbus, who discovered the Americas, on the White House grounds. Statues honoring Columbus were removed across the United States during anti-racism protests in 2020.
According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 22nd (local time), a Columbus statue was installed this morning in front of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, an office building next to the White House, facing Pennsylvania Avenue. On this, White House Spokesperson Davis Ingle said, "At the White House, Christopher Columbus is a hero," adding, "President Trump will ensure he is honored as a hero for generations to come."
The statue was produced by restoring a statue that was removed on July 4, 2020, near Little Italy in Baltimore, Maryland. The statue had been installed in 1984 during President Ronald Reagan's tenure, but it was removed after protesters hurled it into nearby harbor waters amid demonstrations sparked by the death of George Floyd in May 2020.
Afterward, Baltimore-area artist Tilghman Hemsley organized a team of divers to collect fragments, and his son Will Hemsley is said to have produced a replica of the statue. The project received $30,000 (about 45 million won) from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) during Trump's first term, but after the work was completed, no suitable reinstallation site was found, and it was stored in a studio for years.
The plan to install the statue on the White House grounds appears to have been discussed in earnest during preparations for this year's 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. During his first term in 2020, President Trump treated the push to remove statues as an "attack on national memory," issuing an executive order to restore monuments, and he also pledged to restore Columbus Day during the 2024 presidential race.
Debate has continued over Columbus' record. Progressives argue that Columbus' 1492 discovery of the Americas opened an era of destruction of Indigenous civilizations, mass killings, and colonial rule. They have maintained that the second Monday in October, designated as "Columbus Day," should be observed as "Indigenous Peoples' Day," holding to the purpose of recognizing the rights of Indigenous peoples harmed by Europeans' colonization of the Americas and respecting their history and culture.
On the other hand, the position that Columbus' achievements should be honored also remains strong. In particular, Italian American organizations regard Columbus as a symbol of ethnic pride and have strongly opposed the removal of Columbus statues on the grounds that they commemorate immigrants who suffered past discrimination and persecution. It is estimated that there are about 149 Columbus memorials across the United States, the majority of which are said to have been erected through donations from Italian American groups in the 19th and 20th centuries.
In fact, the Italian American community is cheering Trump's move. Basil Russo, president of the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations, said, "This action brings Columbus back after the darkest period five to six years ago," expressing delight.
President Trump intends to expand the placement of statues of historical figures across the White House and federal grounds. In the White House Rose Garden, statues honoring early American figures including Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson have already been installed, and a project to create the "Garden of Heroes" honoring 250 great figures is also reportedly underway.
Academia has expressed concern that President Trump is revealing a strong political hue. Edward Lengel, former chief historian of the White House Historical Association, criticized, "The White House is transforming into an arena where political symbols run rampant," adding, "The administration is turning the White House into a partisan battlefield."
Jeff Miron, vice president of the Cato Institute, a U.S. think tank, noted, "Perspectives on Columbus are the purview of museums, documentary makers, and outside expert organizations, not the White House."