A 22-foot Christopher Columbus statue has been in storage since 2020, when it came down from outside Columbus City Hall during the national reckoning over monuments that followed George Floyd’s murder. On October 9, at a White House Columbus Day event, President Trump demanded the city put it back“into the heart of Columbus.”The statue was a 1955 gift from Genoa, Italy, and stood outside City Hall for decades, which is a big part of why this fight has real emotional weight for Italian American families in the city.
The pushback came fast. Mayor Andrew Ginther said Columbus has different priorities, and City Council President Shannon Hardin told the President to keep the city’s name out of his mouth. Adding to the tension: a 13-foot Columbus replica now stands outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, installed back in March, while the original stays warehoused in Ohio. The White House push is widely read as a midterm appeal to Italian American voters.
What happens next isn’t up to a podium speech. Italian American organizations sued the city back in April to force the statue’s return, and that federal lawsuit is where the decision actually lands. It’s presidential power versus local control, and a 2020 monument fight that never really ended.
Where do you land: should Columbus, Ohio, put the statue back up, or is it the city’s call alone?
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.