Donald Trump has reinstated a statue of Christopher Columbus in the White House. The previous version of the statue was torn down by protestors during Black Lives Matter demonstrations that swept the country in 2020. The text on the statue details its history, including how it was first dedicated in 1984, torn down in 2020, and then “resurrected” in 2022.
The changing attitudes of the American people towards Christopher Columbus saw at least 30 statues and monuments removed across the country in 2020. This was one of the controversies that Donald Trump seized upon, taking to Truth Social account to say he would be “bringing Columbus Day back from the ashes.”
A statue of Christopher Columbus has been erected outside of an ornate federal office building on the White House grounds — the latest sign of the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape cultural and historical representations across the nation’s capital.
The installation of… pic.twitter.com/QaCZGJxBT9
— CNN (@CNN) March 23, 2026
In 2020, massive Black Lives Matter protests took over the country in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
Around the same time, there were competing narratives about Christopher Columbus that were circulating among the people. While some conservatives were concerned with his status as a scientist, explorer and the Father of America, liberals were focused on the effects his voyage to North America had on the native populations.
Columbus, in the second narrative, was painted as an anti-evironmentalist imperial figure with a genocidal streak. There was a large focus on how voyages to America exposed the native population to Old World diseases.
BREAKING: Kamala Harris slams Christopher Columbus and the European explorers who discovered America.
“European explorers ushered in a wave of devastation, violence, stealing land, and widespread disease.” pic.twitter.com/0tR48T9HYc
— The General (@GeneralMCNews) October 14, 2024
Christopher Columbus was not the only figure in United States history who came under fire during the protests. Figures associated with slavery and segregation, like monuments dedicated to Thomas Jefferson and Albert Pike, also faced renaming and removal efforts.
A 2019 study published in the journal Quaternary Science Review found that between 1492 and 1600, around 55 million people perished in the Americas. By June of 2025, several statues were removed to avoid vandalism, some were voted against being kept up, and others were pulled down during protests.
Restoring the statue to the grounds of the White House is only one among the many changes that Donald Trump is in the process of making. The President is well on his way to demolishing the East wing of the White House, intending to build an extravagant ballroom in its place. However, he has said he is not quite sure if all the renovations that he has planned will even go ahead. He said, “I don’t even know if I’m going to do it yet. I’m getting costs, I’m getting bids right now from painters, and we’ll see. It would be a great addition to Washington.”
