Donald Trump threw a Columbus Day party at the White House last week, but the guest of honor he wanted most was nowhere in sight.
Instead, the president turned his attention to a Midwestern city still fighting over a monument removed six years ago. And he made it clear he expects that city to fall in line.
It’s the latest chapter in Trump’s crusade to resurrect monuments toppled during the 2020 racial justice protests.
The people on the receiving end of this particular demand wasted no time telling Trump exactly how they felt.
But who knew Trump would set off a firestorm for landing two hours away for a campaign rally on Monday,
Trump Gets Stripped of His Dignity as Giant Naked Gold Statue Puts His Belly on Display
“We demand that Christopher Columbus be put back into the heart of Columbus, Ohio,” Trump said during the Friday, Oct. 9, celebration, according to ABC 6. “We want it back. We want it back in Columbus.”
The statue is a towering 22-foot likeness of the explorer that Genoa, Italy, gifted to Ohio’s capital in 1955.
It stood outside City Hall for decades until Mayor Andrew Ginther ordered it taken down in the summer of 2020. No one can forget the civil unrest that swept Columbus and cities across the country following George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police.
It hasn’t been back on public display since. In April, a group of Italian American organizations sued the city, Ginther and several federal agencies in federal court, arguing the removal was illegal and discriminatory, WOSU reported.
The groups claim the gift came on the condition that it stay outside City Hall forever. They want a judge to order it returned to its old spot on the Broad Street side of the building.
The city, meanwhile, has been weighing a different path. Last year, a design firm it hired recommended moving the statue to a park that reflects Columbus’ culture and heritage, according to the outlet.
Ginther didn’t take long to respond to Trump. “The president and I clearly have different priorities,” he told ABC 6. “I am focused on the people who live here and the issues that actually affect their lives.”
He noted that Trump should “stop trying to divide our country” and focus on the war, tariffs and high prices. He also added that the city won’t comment on the statue while the case is before the court.
City Council President Shannon Hardin was even more direct. “Mr. President, keep my city’s name out of your mouth,” he wrote on Facebook. “You’ve done enough harm to our residents.”
When NBC4 shared the story on Facebook, residents were just as split as their leaders. More than a few locals had their own suggestions.
“Easiest solution, put the statue in a museum,” one person wrote, adding that it was a nice gift but doesn’t represent everything the city is or should be.
Another offered an even more Ohio-specific answer. “It was a shame to take it down. It was a beautiful work of art admired by folks all over the country,” they wrote. “It’s who our city was named for.”
“I think we should just rename the city,” a third commenter said. “Why get rid of the statue but keep the name?” A fourth person warned him, “Put it back now.”
Others zeroed in on the timing. “Trump is courting the Italian American vote hard,” one user wrote, while a longtime resident pushed back on the critics, saying, “I’m from Columbus and I can’t imagine it without the statue of Columbus.”
That commenter may be onto something about the politics. Trump already has a Columbus of his own. In March, his administration installed a 13-foot replica of a Baltimore Columbus statue that protesters pulled down and dumped into the city’s harbor. The new version now stands outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, right next to the White House.
Friday’s celebration centered on that monument. The Washington Post reports the push is aimed squarely at Italian American voters heading into the midterms. “Remember when you go to the voting booths, I reinstated Columbus Day,” Trump said earlier this year.
As video of the White House statue made the rounds on X, some admirers praised how sharp it looked. Plenty of skeptics, though, predicted it wouldn’t stay pristine for long, pointing straight to Trump’s Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Trump’s makeover of the National Mall landmark cost roughly $14 million. It quickly became a months-long embarrassment as algae and the “American flag blue” began peeling.
Rather than own the mess, Trump blamed vandals for damaging the pool without offering evidence to back it up.
Even after he promised the pool would be back “soon,” new photos show the landmark is drained and still covered in debris.
Despite promising the pool would return “soon,” new photos showed it still drained, walled off, and filthy.
For now, Columbus residents are waiting on a judge (not the president) to decide what happens to their namesake.
Trump: "We demand that Christopher Columbus be put back into the heart of Columbus, Ohio. We want it back. I see my Italian lawyer over here. We gonna win the case? The monument! We’re building a military complex, uh, it’s a arch. A triumphal arch." https://t.co/BL3ujuYX2O
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 9, 2026
