A new statue of Christopher Columbus was installed Sunday on the White House grounds, constructed in part from fragments of a monument destroyed during protests in Baltimore in 2020, according to the New York Post.
The 13-foot, one-ton statue — placed outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building — was commissioned by the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations as part of events marking the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States.
The organization said artists recovered pieces of the original marble statue from Baltimore's Inner Harbor after it was toppled and discarded during protests. Those materials were incorporated into the newly constructed monument.
The group said it approached federal officials after Baltimore declined to reinstall a replacement.
Basil Russo, president of the organization, said in a statement that "Columbus statues have long stood as symbols of pride and cultural identity for more than 18 million Americans of Italian descent."
He added that Columbus' legacy has served as a unifying symbol for Italian immigrants facing discrimination, particularly following the 1891 lynching of Italian immigrants in New Orleans, which helped spur the creation of Columbus Day.
The original Baltimore statue, erected in 1984, was torn down in July 2020 amid nationwide protests after the death of George Floyd. Demonstrators associated with the Black Lives Matter movement argued that Columbus symbolizes the exploitation and mistreatment of Indigenous peoples.
The installation of the new statue follows a proclamation by President Donald Trump last year recognizing Columbus as an American historical figure, as part of broader efforts tied to the nation’s semiquincentennial observance.
On Sunday, the White House issued a statement declaring that "in this White House, Christopher Columbus is a hero, and President Trump will ensure he's honored as such for generations to come."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.