US President Donald Trump has demanded the immediate restoration of a Christopher Columbus statue in Columbus, Ohio, accusing opponents of attempting to erase American heritage. Speaking at a White House Columbus Day celebration, Trump highlighted his administration’s efforts to restore monuments across Washington, announced plans for additional Columbus statues and recalled the 2020 destruction of a monument in Baltimore. He vowed to protect historical landmarks and celebrated the contributions of Italian Americans.
Washington, October 2026 : US President Donald Trump has called for the immediate restoration of a Christopher Columbus statue in Columbus, Ohio, intensifying his campaign to protect historical monuments and accusing political opponents of attempting to erase America’s heritage.
Addressing a Columbus Day celebration in the East Room of the White House, Trump demanded that the statue be returned to its original location in the city named after the Italian explorer.
“But today, I'm officially calling for the statue to be returned immediately to where it belongs,” Trump said.
“We demand that Christopher Columbus be put back into the heart of Columbus, Ohio. We want it back in Columbus,” he added.
Trump, however, did not outline any specific legal or administrative measures his administration might pursue to ensure the monument’s return.
His demand formed part of a broader address in which he praised Columbus, highlighted the contributions of Italian Americans to the United States and criticised the removal of historical monuments during protests in recent years.
“Christopher Columbus changed the future of humanity forever,” the President said, describing the explorer as a hero and arguing that opposition to his legacy had gone too far.
Trump said his administration had already taken steps to restore Columbus’s standing in American public life by placing statues at prominent locations in Washington. He also announced plans to install another statue of the explorer in the White House Rose Garden.
According to the President, a 19th-century statue brought from Italy had been placed at the White House, while another statue, created by a craftsman involved in White House construction projects, would be given a prominent location.
He also highlighted the renovation of the fountain at Columbus Circle in Washington, describing it as part of a wider effort to restore public monuments and historical landmarks across the capital.
Trump credited Interior Secretary Doug Burgum with helping oversee restoration work involving 82 monuments, fountains and statues in Washington. He said several landmarks had suffered vandalism, including damage to stonework and graffiti on historic structures.
The President maintained that stronger enforcement of laws protecting federal monuments had helped prevent further destruction. Recalling protests during his first term, he said he had invoked an existing law prescribing severe penalties for damaging federal monuments.
Trump claimed the warning had deterred protesters who were preparing to pull down statues, including a monument honouring former US President Andrew Jackson.
He also revisited the destruction of a Christopher Columbus statue in Baltimore in July 2020. According to Trump, protesters pulled down the monument, located near the city's Little Italy neighbourhood, and threw its remains into Baltimore Harbour.
The President praised Italian Americans who organised divers and equipment to recover the fragments. He said the community subsequently raised more than $100,000 towards rebuilding the statue.
Trump argued that the destruction of Columbus monuments had deeply offended Italian Americans and said his administration was determined to reverse what he characterised as an attack on their cultural heritage.
He also criticised campaigns targeting monuments associated with prominent American historical figures, including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson.
The President maintained that historical figures whose contributions shaped the United States deserved protection, regardless of contemporary political disagreements over their legacies.
Trump’s remarks underscore his administration’s broader push to preserve and restore monuments associated with the country’s history. His latest demand places renewed focus on the debate over public memorials, historical interpretation and the treatment of controversial figures in American public spaces.
While he has announced restoration initiatives and plans for additional statues, the President did not provide a timeline for the proposed return of the Columbus monument to Ohio.
(Disclaimer :The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
