Donald Trump has ordered a statue of Christopher Columbus to be installed in the White House, a replica of a monument toppled during protests over the killing of George Floyd, reopening the debate in the US over historical memory and the best way to mark the nation's 250th independence anniversary.
A statue of Christopher Columbus has been installed on the White House grounds on the orders of US President Donald Trump in a decision that has sparked intense political and cultural debate in the country.
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The sculpture has been placed in front of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the presidential complex, and is a replica of a monument unveiled in 1984 in Baltimore that was torn down during protests over the killing of George Floyd in 2020.
His murder led to one of the largest waves of civil rights protests in the United States in decades, framed within the Black Lives Matter movement. It also sparked a critical re-examination of historical symbols associated with racism, colonisation, and oppression.
As demonstrations spread, numerous statues of Columbus were removed or toppled in various American cities as many people questioned the glorification of figures linked to European expansion in the Americas.
According to the White House, this latest move seeks to vindicate the Spanish-funded explorer as a fundamental part of Western history whose expeditions marked the start of European expansion in America. Trump has described Columbus as "the original American hero".
"In this White House, Christopher Columbus is a hero, and President Trump will ensure that he is honoured as such for generations to come," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in an official statement.
The decision has been interpreted by Trump supporters as a gesture of defence of Western cultural heritage and national pride.
Critics, however, and social organisations see it as a vindication of a figure linked to the beginning of colonisation and abuses against indigenous peoples.
The statue, donated by Italian-American organisations, is part of a broader strategy of the Republican president to restore historical symbols removed in recent years.
Trump had already pushed for the recovery of Columbus Day in the official calendar, replacing the Indigenous Peoples' Day promoted by the previous administration.
