Trump installs Columbus statue at White House

President Donald Trump installed a statue of Christopher Columbus on the grounds of the White House, positioning it near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the north side of the structure.

The statue is a reconstruction of a monument originally unveiled by President Ronald Reagan in Baltimore in 1984. That original statue was torn down by protesters on July 4, 2020, and thrown into the Inner Harbor during demonstrations against colonial and racist symbols. The new version was built using fragments recovered from the Baltimore monument.

Trump announced the installation in a letter to the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian-American Organizations, thanking the group for donating the piece. The statue was installed overnight and is protected by a fence. According to sources, the reconstruction involved support from Italian-American groups and local and federal funding.

The installation reflects Trump's stated effort to redefine the historical narrative of the continent, moving away from acknowledgment of abuses perpetrated during colonization. The statue is visible from Pennsylvania Avenue NW and 17th Street NW.

The placement comes amid broader efforts, particularly from progressive political circles, to replace commemorations of Columbus with gestures toward indigenous and native populations. The 2020 removal of the Baltimore statue occurred following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, which sparked a wave of anti-racist demonstrations and a widespread removal of monuments considered to represent colonial and racist symbols.

Trump had publicly expressed his intention to install a Columbus statue at the White House approximately one month before the installation took place.