Trump unveils new controversial statue on White House grounds with a hidden message
President Donald Trump has given a Christopher Columbus statue thrown into Baltimore Harbor by Black Lives Matter rioters a second act on the White House grounds.
The 13-foot statue was installed over the weekend on the north side of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, in clear view of pedestrians on Pennsylvania Avenue.
It is a replica assembled in part from pieces of the original, which was dedicated in the presence of Ronald Reagan and stood for 36 years before BLM rioters dumped it in the harbor on July 4, 2020.
Trump wrote to Basil Russo, the leader of the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations, thanking him for gifting the statue to the government.
'I am truly honored that this magnificent statue will now sit on the grounds of the White House,' the President wrote.
Trump praised Columbus as 'the original American hero and one of the most gallant and visionary men to ever walk the face of the Earth.'
Russo shared the President's letter online and to members of the other organization he heads, the Italian Sons and Daughters of America.
The statue is the latest move in Trump's broader anti-woke agenda, which has seen him rename military bases that had shed their Confederate names and push to strip 'ideological' content, including slavery exhibits, from the Smithsonian.
A statue of Christopher Columbus was erected on the grounds of the White House, on the north side of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, over the weekend
The statue had been on display in Baltimore until July 4, 2020 when Black Lives Matter tossed it into Baltimore Harbor. Pieces of the original statue were used to make replica
While Columbus is credited with discovering the Americas, his legacy has become more complicated in the modern era, due to his history of enslaving people and bringing disease and conflict to Native Americans.
Some states started celebrating Indigenous Peoples' Day instead of Columbus Day every October.
Joe Biden joined them in 2021, becoming the first president to mark Indigenous Peoples' Day.
Trump signed a proclamation last October to mark Columbus Day exclusively, saying in the Oval Office: 'We're back, we're back, Italians.'
The statue's fate is entangled with one of the defining crises of Trump's first term: the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by white Minneapolis police officers over Memorial Day weekend 2020.
Floyd's death set off a wave of BLM protests around the world amid the pandemic.
The Columbus statue was tossed into Baltimore Harbor during Independence Day festivities that year.
Trump, running for reelection at the time, was openly critical of the protests, opting to push a law-and-order and 'Blue Lives Matter' message instead.
The date of the original statue's destruction is listed on the base of the new statue, located outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and visible from Pennsylvania Avenue
The head of two prominent Italian-American groups reached out to the Trump administration about displaying the statue after Baltimore officials refused to display it again
The statue (left) had been on display in Baltimore's Little Italy until it was toppled and dragged into Baltimore Harbor on July 4, 2020, with only the pedestal left remaining (right)
Video posted on social media captured the statue of Christopher Columbus in Baltimore, Maryland being toppled and dragged to the Baltimore Harbor on July 4, 2020 amid the Black Lives Matter protests
Baltimore Police officers look at the submerged statue of Christopher Columbus, which was dragged and drowned by Black Lives Matter protesters on July 4, 2020. The statue was reassembled and recreated and erected on White House grounds over the weekend
He also disavowed the destruction of monuments that included statues of Confederate figures.
By planting the statue in one of Washington's most visible corridors, Trump is pushing back on two fronts at once: the movement to retire Columbus and the Black Lives Matter cause that toppled him.
In Baltimore, officials refused to install the new statue, leading Russo to reach out to the Trump administration instead.
'Columbus statues have long stood as symbols of pride and cultural identity for more than 18 million Americans of Italian descent,' Russo argued in a statement.
'For over a century, Columbus's legacy helped Italian immigrants navigate prejudice and hardship, serving as a source of unity and belonging as they built new lives in this country,' the Italian-American leader added.
