Trump Installs Replica Columbus Statue on White House Grounds

On March 22, 2026, Donald Trump ordered the installation of a 13-foot marble replica statue of Christopher Columbus on the grounds of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House. The sculpture is a recreation of a monument originally dedicated in 1984 in Baltimore's Little Italy, which was toppled by protesters and thrown into the Inner Harbor in July 2020 during demonstrations following the death of George Floyd.

The replica was constructed by sculptor Will Hemsley and his father, Tilghman Hemsley, using scans and fragments of Carrara marble salvaged from the harbor. The project was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, private donors, and the Italian American Organizations United. Because Baltimore officials refused to reinstall the piece in public spaces, the statue was gifted or loaned to the federal government by the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations.

President Trump framed the installation as a move to bring Columbus Day "back from the ashes" and a rejection of "anti-American" narratives. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle described Columbus as a "hero" and a "giant of Western civilization." The move occurs alongside other White House renovations, including Trump's personal funding of a black granite walkway in the West Wing colonnade. Critics have condemned the installation as "predictable rage bait" and a whitewashing of history, citing Columbus's legacy of colonial violence and genocide against Indigenous populations.