President Donald Trump has breathed new life into a statue of Christopher Columbus, which was previously tossed into Baltimore Harbor by Black Lives Matter protestors, by relocating it to the White House grounds.

This 13-foot statue found its new home over the weekend beside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where it stands prominently visible to those walking along Pennsylvania Avenue.

The statue is a replica, partially reconstructed from fragments of the original, which was unveiled with Ronald Reagan in attendance and remained a fixture for 36 years until protestors submerged it in the harbor on July 4, 2020.

In a letter to Basil Russo, head of the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations, Trump expressed gratitude for the donation of the statue to the government.

“It is a great honor to have this remarkable statue now situated on the White House grounds,” the President stated.

Trump lauded Columbus as “the quintessential American hero and one of the most courageous and visionary figures in history.”

Russo shared the President’s letter online and to members of the other organization he heads, the Italian Sons and Daughters of America. 

The statue is the latest move in Trump’s broader anti-woke agenda, which has seen him rename military bases that had shed their Confederate names and push to strip ‘ideological’ content, including slavery exhibits, from the Smithsonian. 

A statue of Christopher Columbus was erected on the grounds of the White House, on the north side of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, over the weekend 

The statue had been on display in Baltimore until July 4, 2020 when Black Lives Matter tossed it into Baltimore Harbor. Pieces of the original statue were used to make replica

While Columbus is credited with discovering the Americas, his legacy has become more complicated in the modern era, due to his history of enslaving people and bringing disease and conflict to Native Americans.

Some states started celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day every October. 

Joe Biden joined them in 2021, becoming the first president to mark Indigenous Peoples’ Day. 

Trump signed a proclamation last October to mark Columbus Day exclusively, saying in the Oval Office: ‘We’re back, we’re back, Italians.’ 

The statue’s fate is entangled with one of the defining crises of Trump’s first term: the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by white Minneapolis police officers over Memorial Day weekend 2020. 

Floyd’s death set off a wave of BLM protests around the world amid the pandemic. 

The Columbus statue was tossed into Baltimore Harbor during Independence Day festivities that year.

Trump, running for reelection at the time, was openly critical of the protests, opting to push a law-and-order and ‘Blue Lives Matter’ message instead.

The date of the original statue’s destruction is listed on the base of the new statue, located outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and visible from Pennsylvania Avenue 

The head of two prominent Italian-American groups reached out to the Trump administration about displaying the statue after Baltimore officials refused to display it again

The statue (left) had been on display in Baltimore’s Little Italy until it was toppled and dragged into Baltimore Harbor on July 4, 2020, with only the pedestal left remaining (right) 

Video posted on social media captured the statue of Christopher Columbus in Baltimore, Maryland being toppled and dragged to the Baltimore Harbor on July 4, 2020 amid the Black Lives Matter protests

Baltimore Police officers look at the submerged statue of Christopher Columbus, which was dragged and drowned by Black Lives Matter protesters on July 4, 2020. The statue was reassembled and recreated and erected on White House grounds over the weekend 

He also disavowed the destruction of monuments that included statues of Confederate figures. 

By planting the statue in one of Washington’s most visible corridors, Trump is pushing back on two fronts at once: the movement to retire Columbus and the Black Lives Matter cause that toppled him. 

In Baltimore, officials refused to install the new statue, leading Russo to reach out to the Trump administration instead. 

‘Columbus statues have long stood as symbols of pride and cultural identity for more than 18 million Americans of Italian descent,’ Russo argued in a statement. 

‘For over a century, Columbus’s legacy helped Italian immigrants navigate prejudice and hardship, serving as a source of unity and belonging as they built new lives in this country,’ the Italian-American leader added.