Historical Monuments and Memory Politics

On March 22, 2026, President Trump had a mostly-marble statue of Christopher Columbus by Maryland sculptor Will Hemsley lowered into place on the White House Executive Grounds near the President’s residence. The White House framed the installation as endorsing a "traditional view" of Columbus and as part of Trump’s effort to "bring Columbus Day back" — an explicit rebuttal to the trend of replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day — and John Pica of Italian American Organizations United said the group was "delighted the statue has found a place where it can peacefully shine and be protected."