Donald Trump Installs Controversial Statue in Latest Makeover Saga

President Donald Trump has installed a 13-foot replica of Christopher Columbus on the White House grounds — a move that has drawn widespread condemnation from critics.

Located on the north side of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the statue is a reconstruction of a marble monument that was toppled and thrown into Baltimore’s Inner Harbor by protesters on July 4, 2020, during a Black Lives Matter protest.

Sculptor Will Hemsley used shattered pieces recovered from the harbor to guide the creation of the new one-ton replica.

Italian American Organizations United owns the statue and has loaned it to the federal government until January 20, 2029.

The pedestal reads: "Destroyed July 4, 2020 … Resurrected 2022 ... Rededicated by President Donald J. Trump, October 13, 2025.”

The installation is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to reshape the White House grounds, and honor figures the president deems "foundational heroes.”

Trump has described Columbus as the "original American hero" and characterized the removal of such statues as an "assault on our collective national memory.”

White House spokesman Davis Ingle said of the installation, “In this White House, Christopher Columbus is a hero. And he will continue to be honored as such by President Trump.”

The Cato Institute, a non-partisan group whose mission is to promote public policies based on the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peace, criticized the move, stating that "The Columbus statue will inevitably generate controversy and polarization," and called for the removal of government involvement in "...[using] its authority and our tax dollars to elevate one narrative."

This move follows Trump’s 2025 proclamation to "bring back Columbus Day" after it had been largely superseded by Indigenous Peoples' Day during the Biden administration.

The statue joins other recent additions, including statues of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson in the Rose Garden, amidst a larger renovation that included the demolition of the East Wing to build a new ballroom.

Criticism against Christopher Columbus has grown significantly in recent decades, shifting his historical legacy from that of a heroic explorer to a figure associated with brutality, slavery, and the devastation of Indigenous populations in the Americas.

Critics argue that celebrating Columbus glorifies colonialism and ignores the suffering of native populations, leading many to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day.

In 2025, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he would be “bringing Columbus Day back from the ashes.”

“The Democrats did everything possible to destroy Christopher Columbus, his reputation, and all of the Italians that love him so much,” Trump wrote. “They tore down his Statues, and put up nothing but ‘WOKE,’ or even worse, nothing at all! Well, you’ll be happy to know, Christopher is going to make a major comeback. I am hereby reinstating Columbus Day under the same rules, dates, and locations as it has had for all of the many decades before!”