Trump turns 2020 statue wars on their head with Columbus monument revival
The White House has installed a 13-foot statue of Christopher Columbus after the monument was torn down by rioters and tossed in Baltimore's Inner Harbor nearly six years ago amid...
By Fox News · Fox News
The White House has installed a 13-foot statue of Christopher Columbus after the monument was torn down by rioters and tossed in Baltimore's Inner Harbor nearly six years ago amid the 2020 riots. "As we celebrate our Nation’s 250th anniversary of independence, the White House is proud to honor Christopher Columbus’s legendary life and legacy with a well-deserved statue on the White House grounds," White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital on Monday of the new addition to the White House's grounds. The one-ton statue, spearheaded by the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations, is part of the Trump administration’s America250 celebrations and sits on the north side of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. WASHINGTON MONUMENT TO BECOME ‘BIRTHDAY CANDLE’ AS US MARKS START OF 250TH YEAR Rebuilt in part from salvaged pieces, the statue was installed at the White House on Sunday after Baltimore officials declined to restore it to the city’s Little Italy neighborhood, according to COPOMIAO, which is a national coalition of Italian American groups that advocate for their communities. President Donald Trump sent a letter thanking COPOMIAO President Basil M. Russo for the statue. He said the tall figure was placed next to another piece of art called Freedom’s Charge, which he said is "a life-size sculpture representing the revolutionary struggle to win America’s independence." "These statues represent the inspiring historical progression of the American story and will stand as an eternal memorial to courage, adventure, and the noblest aspirations of the human spirit as well as the extraordinary pride of our wonderful Italian American community," he said. In the letter, President Trump also praised Columbus' role in shaping the nation's history. WHITE HOUSE FIRES BACK AT CRITICS CALLING TRUMP’S MASSIVE ARCH ‘TOO BIG’ "Christopher Columbus was the original American hero and one of the most gallant and visionary men to ever walk the…