ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A statue of Christopher Columbus has been placed on the grounds of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House, the latest effort by President Trump’s administration to recognize the controversial explorer.
The statue is a replica of one that was tossed into Baltimore’s harbor in 2020 during Trump’s first term at a time of nationwide protests against institutional racism.
Trump endorses a traditional view of Columbus as a leader of the 1492 mission seen as the unofficial beginning of European colonization in the Americas and the development of the modern economic and political order. In recent years, Columbus also has been recognized as a primary example of Western Europe’s conquest of the New World, its resources and its Native people.
“In this White House, Christopher Columbus is a hero, and President Trump will ensure he’s honored as such for generations to come,” the White House posted on X.
“We are delighted the statue has found a place where it can peacefully shine and be protected,” said John Pica, a Maryland lobbyist and president of the Italian American Organizations United, which owns the statue and agreed to lend it to the federal government for placement at or near the White House.
The statue, made mostly of marble, was created by Will Hemsley, a sculptor based in Centreville on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
The original statue was toppled by protesters July 4, 2020, and thrown into Baltimore’s Inner Harbor during the national social justice reckoning in the months after the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. It was one of many statues of Columbus that were vandalized around the same time, with protesters saying the Italian explorer was responsible for the genocide and exploitation of Native peoples in the Americas.
In recent years, some people, institutions and government entities have displaced Columbus Day with the recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day. President Biden in 2021 became the first U.S. president to mark Indigenous Peoples Day with a proclamation.
Trump dismisses the shifting views on Columbus as the work of “left-wing arsonists,” bending history and twisting Americans’ collective memory. “I’m bringing Columbus Day back from the ashes,” he declared last April. Echoing his 2024 campaign rhetoric, he complained that “Democrats did everything possible to destroy Christopher Columbus, his reputation, and all of the Italians that love him so much.”
Witte writes for the Associated Press.
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