From Baltimore to Washington: Columbus statue reemerges alongside federal power

President Donald Trump has ordered the installation of a statue of Christopher Columbus in the vicinity of the White House, specifically on the grounds of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington. The information was released by the AP agency.

The sculpture placed is a replica of the original statue that was toppled and thrown into the Baltimore harbor in July 2020, in the context of national protests following the death of George Floyd. That wave of demonstrations brought numerous historical monuments linked in some way to colonization, slavery and structural racism to the center of public debate.

From destroyed statue to political symbol

The current piece was reconstructed by sculptor Will Hemsley, who worked for months from fragments recovered from the bottom of the harbor. The reconstruction combined 3-D scanning techniques and molds to recreate the original figure at an estimated cost of about 75,000 euros, largely funded by private donations.

The owner of the statue is Italian American Organizations United, which decided to give it to the federal government. Its president, John Pica, celebrated the new location noting that it will allow the work to "shine in peace and be protected."

According to journalist David Alandete of ABC newspaper, the statue has been placed in a visible area of the presidential complex, next to historical elements such as cannons linked to the war between the United States and Spain over Cuba, which adds an additional symbolic dimension to the location.

An ideologically charged gesture

Trump's decision is part of his repeated defense of the figure of Columbus as a foundational symbol of American history. From the White House it was stated that the explorer will be honored "as a hero for generations," in line with the president's speech, who has harshly criticized what he considers an "ideologized" reinterpretation of the past.

In recent years, however, the figure of Columbus has been the subject of a critical review. For many historians and social movements, he represents not only the beginning of European expansion in America in 1492, but also the beginning of processes of colonization, exploitation and violence against indigenous peoples.

That change in perspective has been reflected in institutional decisions: in 2021, then President Joe Biden became the first to officially recognize Indigenous Peoples Day, in parallel to or substituting the traditional Columbus Day in several jurisdictions.