Trump erects statue of Christopher Columbus in White House grounds

Monument made from shattered pieces of original statue tossed into Baltimore’s inner harbor by protesters in 2020 A statue of Christopher Columbus has been installed in the grounds of the White House in the latest attempt by Donald Trump to position the controversial explorer as a foundational hero of the US. The president had the 13ft statue, which weighs one ton, placed outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, on Pennsylvania Avenue. It is a replica of a monument to Columbus that was torn down and tossed into Baltimore’s inner harbor by protesters in the city amid widespread anti-racism protests in 2020. The new statue was built in 2022 with shattered pieces of the original monument that were retrieved from the harbor. The pedestal of the statue is inscribed: “Destroyed July 4, 2020 … Resurrected 2022 ... Rededicated by President Donald J. Trump, October 13, 2025.” Trump wrote in a letter to Basil Russo, leader of the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations, which owns the statue and loaned it to the federal government, that Columbus “was the original American hero and one of the most gallant and visionary men to ever walk the face of the Earth”.