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By Jack Beresford
Senior Reporter
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President Donald Trump is set to resurrect a statue that was previously destroyed by protesters in the wake of George Floyd's death in 2020.
The statue of Christopher Columbus previously stood in Columbus Piazza, in the Little Italy region of Baltimore, where it was first unveiled by former Republican President Ronald Reagan back in 1984.
Thirty-six years on, protesters in the city used ropes and chains to topple the monument before throwing it into the city's Inner Harbor. It came amid protests over Floyd's death at the hands of police officers and amid a reassessment of Columbus's legacy as a colonizer rather than explorer.
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That reassessment is one that Trump and several leading figures in Baltimore's Italian American community have always rejected.
Now a new version of that same Columbus statue is set to grace the White House.
What To Know
In an interview with The Associated Press, John Pica, a Maryland lobbyist and the president of the Italian American Organizations United, said the group he represents had agreed to loan the government a replica of a statue Columbus statue.
Artist Will Hemsley was hired to restore the statue, which combines parts of the one pulled from Baltimore's Inner Harbor along with new additions and repairs. Newsweek has contacted Pica and Hemsley for comment.
Pica said he was contacted by an intermediary around Columbus Day last year who informed him the White House was looking for a statue of the famed explorer. The Associated Press said Pica’s organization held a straw vote to decide on whether to loan the statue to the White House. The vote came out unanimously in favor of sending the statue. A loan agreement was signed on Wednesday.
Pica said he was "cautiously optimistic" about whether the statue would eventually make its way to the White House. Though there is no official time scale for bringing the statue to Washington, D.C., Pica suggested it could arrive "possibly within two weeks."
Maryland state Delegate Nino Mangione, a Republican from Baltimore County, meanwhile confirmed the statue is set to be loaned out. Mangione told Newsweek: "Our leadership has been working with the White House to relocate our statue to the White House grounds."
Mangione was among a group of state delegates and Italian American activists who had called on Baltimore Mayor Bernard "Jack" C. Young and Governor Larry Hogan to take steps to protect the Columbus statue back in late June of 2020, when protesters began calling for its removal.
In the statement issued to Newsweek, Mangione criticized the "leadership in the City of Baltimore" for failing to provide "appropriate protection" for the statue back in 2020. "The statue had to be repaired after the thugs attempted to destroy it," he said. "The statue is repaired and ready to be displayed in a prominent position of honor, worthy of the great Christopher Columbus."
Mangione said he was pleased about the prospect of the statue now being displayed "on the hallowed grounds of the White House." "Christopher Columbus was a great man and a hero to Italian Americans," he said. "It is wonderful to see this statue find a home on the White House grounds where it will be viewed and protected."
Mangione said the move sends a message to those who destroyed the statute in the first place that they will "not prevail" and "this behavior should not be allowed."
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle declined to comment to The Associated Press about the statue but did reaffirm Trump’s affinity for Columbus. He said: "In this White House, Christopher Columbus is a hero." The statue is only being lent to the White House and would be reclaimed in the event of a future administration wanting it removed.
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Why It Matters
A 15th- and 16th-century explorer traditionally credited for connecting the Old World of Europe, Africa, and Asia with the New World of North America and South America, Columbus’ legacy has shifted in recent times.
Historical evidence has led to Columbus being reframed by some educators as a colonizer rather than explorer, and someone whose arrival led to land theft, enslavement, disease, and cultural destruction for Indigenous communities.
Many Americans still continue to see Columbus as a mythic national figure. Born in Genoa, Italy, Columbus is still embraced by some Italian American communities as a symbol of their heritage. Pica and Mangione are among those who continue to celebrate him.
Though Trump’s decision to embrace Columbus is, on one level, an effort to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, he has long expressed support for the traditional view of Columbus. Last October, he issued a Columbus Day proclamation, describing him 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."
This stood in stark contrast to former Democratic President Joe Biden who, in 2021, chose to issue an Indigenous Peoples' Day proclamation. Trump ignored Indigenous Peoples' Day.
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What People Are Saying
Maryland state Delegate Nino Mangione, a Republican from Baltimore County, told Newsweek: "The statue had to be repaired after the thugs attempted to destroy it and threw it into the Inner Harbor. The statue is repaired and ready to be displayed in a prominent position of honor, worthy of the great Christopher Columbus…We are so pleased at the prospect of the statue being displayed on the hallowed grounds of the White House.
"Christopher Columbus was a great man and a hero to Italian Americans. It is wonderful to see this statue find a home on the White House grounds where it will be viewed and protected."
Trump spokesperson Davis Ingle said: "In this White House, Christopher Columbus is a hero. And he will continue to be honored as such by President Donald Trump."
Trump said to reporters last April: "The Democrats did everything possible to destroy Christopher Columbus, his reputation, and all of the Italians that love him so much. They tore down his Statues, and put up nothing but ‘WOKE,’ or even worse, nothing at all!"
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