President Trump has installed a statue of Christopher Columbus on the White House’s grounds, located outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
The previous Columbus statue was toppled by protesters in 2020. The new statue was commissioned by the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations and is part of America’s 250th anniversary and uses pieces of the old statue.
“Columbus statues have long stood as symbols of pride and cultural identity for more than 18 million Americans of Italian descent,” Basil M. Russo, the conference’s president, said in a statement. “For over a century, Columbus’s legacy helped Italian immigrants navigate prejudice and hardship, serving as a source of unity and belonging as they built new lives in this country.
“Columbus Day itself emerged in the aftermath of the 1891 New Orleans lynching, when 11 Italian immigrants were killed by a mob of thousands, an event that prompted a national effort to promote the acceptance and assimilation of Italian Americans,” Russo continued. “This history remains central to why these monuments matter.”
Last year, President Trump signed a proclamation recognizing October 13 as Columbus Day. The previous White House administration was the first to refocus the historical commemoration for Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
“Today our Nation honors the legendary Christopher Columbus — the original American hero, a giant of Western civilization, and one of the most gallant and visionary men to ever walk the face of the earth,” Trump’s proclamation says. “This Columbus Day, we honor his life with reverence and gratitude, and we pledge to reclaim his extraordinary legacy of faith, courage, perseverance, and virtue from the left-wing arsonists who have sought to destroy his name and dishonor his memory.”
The proclamation declares that Columbus “planted a majestic cross in a mighty act of devotion, dedicating the land to God and setting in motion America’s proud birthright of faith.”
