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Donald Trump Heaps Praise on Christopher Columbus — But Many Americans Aren’t Buying It

Trump plans on giving White House an uplift by installing a statue of Christopher Columbus. But the mere buzz sparks controversy

By Srijony Das
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. 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!” 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. 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.”

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