Trump Urges Columbus to Restore Ohio Statue as Baltimore Monument Moves to White House

President Donald Trump called for Columbus, Ohio, to return a Christopher Columbus statue removed in 2020, using a White House Columbus Day event on Friday, October 9, to defend monuments honoring the explorer. His remarks came as the statue remained in storage amid litigation, while a separate monument recovered from Baltimore's Inner Harbor was installed on White House grounds.

According to NBC4, Trump's appeal focused on restoring the Ohio monument to the city's center. The statue, a gift from Genoa, Italy, in 1955, was removed under an order from Mayor Andrew Ginther during protests over racial injustice.

Trump made his demand directly to the Ohio capital.

"We demand that Christopher Columbus be put back into the heart of Columbus, Ohio," Trump said.

He immediately reinforced his call for the statue's return.

"We want it back in Columbus, Ohio." Trump said.

A representative for Ginther said the city could not discuss the statue's future because the matter was before the courts.

"The statue is the subject of pending litigation. The City is not commenting on the matter while it is before the court," a representative for Mayor Andrew Ginther said.

When the monument was removed in July 2020, Ginther said it carried painful historical associations for many residents. The mayor described the statue's symbolism in explaining the city's decision.

"patriarchy, oppression and divisiveness" was how Ginther characterized what the monument represented to many residents.

The controversy reflects competing views of Columbus's legacy. His voyages helped initiate European colonization of the Americas, and his treatment of Indigenous people included enslavement and forced labor. Some Italian Americans, however, regard him as a symbol of their heritage and recognition in the United States.

Italian-American organizations and individuals filed a lawsuit against Columbus this spring, alleging that the removal was unlawful and discriminatory. The plaintiffs are seeking the statue's return to City Hall.

The city's Reimagining Columbus initiative completed two years of community engagement and design work in 2025. According to the project's website, its recommendation calls for a park and community facility where the statue could be displayed alongside additional historical context. The proposal has no designated site or construction funding, although the Mellon Foundation provided a $2 million grant for planning and community engagement.

Trump also highlighted a separate Columbus statue in Baltimore that was toppled on July 4, 2020, and subsequently recovered from the Inner Harbor. According to WBAL, Italian American groups helped retrieve and rebuild the monument, which now stands in front of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House.

During Friday's event, Trump described the original Baltimore monument and the recovery effort.

"In Baltimore, a magnificent statue made from the finest Italian marble stood facing the cities, Little Italy, and you know all about it. But on July 4, 2020, a hate filled mob of radical left lunatics and Marxists, communists lash chains around Columbus’ neck, toppled the statue to the ground and dumped the broken remains into the Baltimore Harbor," Trump said.

He continued by describing how the statue's fragments were recovered and reassembled.

"The mob thought they had won. They were all happy. But the very next morning, Italian and Americans organized divers and a crane, and these people came to complain about it," Trump said.

"They weren’t there long. It didn’t take long for you guys to do what you do, and recover the fragments from the harbor and put it together."

The Italian American Civic Club of Maryland was among the groups involved in recovering and rebuilding the Baltimore monument. Sam Grasso, a board member of the organization, said the statue's placement at the White House held personal and historical significance.

"It means a lot. It means a lot to me. It means a lot to our forefathers who came to America for a better life," Grasso said.

The Baltimore statue now stands on White House grounds, while its original pedestal remains empty in the city's Little Italy neighborhood. Trump's October 9 event preceded Columbus Day on Monday, October 12, and his holiday proclamation also highlighted the statue installed at the White House earlier this year.