Christopher Columbus replica statue installed on White House grounds
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The White House erected the 13-foot statue of Christopher Columbus nearly six years ago amid the 2020 riots after the monument was torn down by rioters and thrown into Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
“As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation’s independence, the White House is proud to honor the legendary life and legacy of Christopher Columbus with a well-deserved statue on the White House grounds,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital on Monday about the new statue added to the White House grounds.
The one-ton statue, spearheaded by the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations, is part of the Trump administration’s America250 celebration and is located on the north side of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
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The 13-foot, one-ton replica now stands on the White House grounds as part of Trump’s America250 celebrations. (Fox News)
The statue, partially reconstructed from salvaged pieces, was installed at the White House on Sunday after Baltimore officials refused to restore it to the city’s Little Italy neighborhood, according to COPOMIAO, a national coalition of Italian American groups advocating for their community.
President Donald Trump sent a letter thanking COPOMIAO President Basil M. Russo for the statue. The tall figure was placed next to another artwork called Freedom’s Charge, which he said was “a life-size sculpture representing the revolutionary struggle to gain American independence.”
“These statues represent the inspiring historical progression of American history and will remain an eternal monument to courage, adventure, and the noblest desires of the human spirit, as well as the extraordinary pride of our great Italian American community,” he said.
In the letter, President Trump also praised Columbus’ role in shaping the nation’s history.
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Replica statue of Christopher Columbus replaces memorial rebels dumped in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor in 2020 (Fox News)
“Christopher Columbus was the original American hero and one of the most courageous and visionary men to ever walk the earth,” he said. “Guided by unwavering prayer, unwavering fortitude, and determination, Columbus’s voyage in 1492 carried thousands of years of wisdom, philosophy, logic, and culture across the Atlantic to the Americas, paving the way for the final triumph of Western civilization less than three centuries later on July 4, 1776.”
“I am truly honored that this magnificent statue now stands on the White House grounds,” he added.
Statues and monuments described as “racist” by rioters were vandalized, toppled and destroyed across the country following the death of George Floyd in May 2020. A statue of George Washington in Portland, Oregon was toppled and set on fire; Confederate monuments in Richmond, Virginia, including those of Jefferson Davis and Williams Carter Wickham, were also targeted during the protests.
Russo, in coordination with the Association of Italian American Organizations, spearheaded the months-long project to honor “Italian American history and culture.” The original statue, unveiled by Former President Ronald Reagan in 1984, was torn down decades later on Independence Day amid criticism over the arrival of Columbus in 1492 and the deaths of millions of Native people.
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The remains of the Christopher Columbus statue near Little Italy after it was ripped from its pedestal and dragged into Jones Falls by protesters in Baltimore on Saturday, July 4, 2020. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“Columbus statues have long served as symbols of pride and cultural identity for more than 18 million Italian-Americans,” Russo said. “For more than a century, Columbus’s legacy helped Italian immigrants cope with prejudice and hardship and served as a source of unity and belonging as they built new lives in this country. Columbus Day emerged in the wake of the 1891 New Orleans lynching, in which 11 Italian immigrants were killed by a mob of thousands, an event that spurred a national effort to promote the acceptance and assimilation of Italian Americans. This history is central to why these monuments are important.”
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Ingle added that the administration will continue its efforts to preserve Columbus’ heritage.
“President Trump rightly praised Christopher Columbus as ‘the original American hero, a giant of Western civilization, and one of the bravest and most visionary men to ever walk the Earth,'” he said. “In this White House, Christopher Columbus is a hero, and President Trump will ensure he is honored that way for generations to come.”
