Donald Trump’s latest fixation appears to be installing a statue of Christopher Columbus near his residence at the White House. While his administration has not provided any clarity on the upcoming construction, the news has sparked another controversy. The idea that the U.S. President is trying to rewrite American history and one of its key historical narratives is debatable at the moment.
To put it in context, President Trump and his administration hail Columbus as the quintessential American hero. But historically, the 15th-century explorer never set foot on the U.S. mainland. As the country nears its 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, installing a statue of someone whom many don’t even consider a hero only adds further controversy.
As I pointed out, Trump put up a statue of Christopher Columbus for “discovering” America. He spoke Spanish. I know. The irony of it all.
— NordicOne@X (@NordicOneX25271) February 12, 2026
Following the news, Fox News revealed the preliminary defense of the Columbus controversy set by the White House. Trump spokesman Davis Ingle issued a statement on behalf of the 79-year-old.
What drew attention was that he delivered it using TV’s fictional character Tony Soprano’s iconic punchline. In his words, “In this White House, Christopher Columbus is a hero.” The original dialogue from HBO’s The Sopranos had the fictional crime boss Tony defending Columbus to his son: “He was a brave Italian explorer, and in this house, Christopher Columbus is a hero, end of story!”
NEW: President Trump is reportedly planning to install a statue of Christopher Columbus on White House grounds pic.twitter.com/AlE1tyJVxO
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 4, 2026
The proposal to construct the massive Columbus statue first came to light when reports suggested the administration was trying to build a replica of one that existed in 2002. It was pulled down and dumped into Baltimore’s Inner Harbour during the racial protests that year.
According to the Washington Post, the upcoming statue would be a reconstruction of the older statue first unveiled during President Ronald Reagan’s term. Its previous destruction was because protestors saw it as a symbol linked with slavery and colonialism.
Netizens were shocked by Donald Trump’s alleged attempts to rewrite history and expressed their disbelief on social media. One user commented, “Columbus made four voyages to the New World and never set foot on the mainland. All four times, he landed on one of the Caribbean islands. What a fool! Doesn’t even know fourth grade geography let alone history!”
Another netizen commented, “I just can’t wrap my head around this f******. They’re just d–b and stupid, apparently.” A third wrote, “This isn’t real, right? Like, this is satire? Please tell me it’s satire.” Some claimed that building a statue of someone unrelated to American history meant wasting public money that could be used elsewhere.
President Trump’s plan to install a Christopher Columbus statue at the White House shows why government shouldn’t be in the monument business. As Cato’s @jeffreyamiron notes, “This action addresses no market failure while using taxpayer funds to take a position on a contentious… pic.twitter.com/ZOiXJ7II84
— Cato Institute (@CatoInstitute) February 4, 2026
This is not the first time President Trump has shown his fixation on declaring Christopher Columbus a national hero. In 2025, the White House, under his administration, issued a proclamation to celebrate Columbus Day instead of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
The 79-year-old’s official statement on the matter had surprisingly defined Columbus as “the original American hero, a giant of Western civilization, and one of the most gallant and visionary men to ever walk the face of the earth.”
