Trump hosts White House ceremony to honor Christopher Columbus ahead of midterms

President Donald Trump hosted a White House celebration on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, honoring explorer Christopher Columbus and unveiling a reconstructed statue placed outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

The ceremony was framed as a call to Italian‑American voters as the 2026 midterm elections approach, with Trump emphasizing the community’s historic contributions and warning that “radical left communists” seek to erase that legacy.

“I resurrected Christopher Columbus,” the president said, receiving applause from the Italians in the room. “He’s been rehabbed 100 percent, and he’s been resurrected in the true sense.”

The new statue recreates a Baltimore monument that protesters toppled and dumped into the city’s harbor on July 4, 2020. Fragments recovered from the harbor were incorporated into the White House version, which was installed in March after the original, commissioned by Italian American Organizations United and dedicated in 1984 with President Ronald Reagan in attendance, was pulled down during the unrest that followed George Floyd’s death in May 2020.

Trump also announced plans for a second Columbus statue to be placed in the Rose Garden, alongside existing monuments to Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. The upcoming work, designed by the architect of the White House heliport, will depict Columbus surrounded by four female figures symbolizing Europe, America, Asia, and Africa, and will stand outside the Oval Office.

During the event, opera singer Christopher Macchio performed, and the president praised Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, whose son Andrew attended in his father’s place.

“Those who hate our country want to see the Italian American community erased,” Trump said. “We love Italian Americans. I love you. That’s why I’m here.”

The celebration arrives amid ongoing national debate over the legacy of Columbus. President Joe Biden formally proclaimed Indigenous Peoples Day as a federal holiday in 2021, a move that Trump reversed by reinstating Columbus Day on the calendar. The president also singled out Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El‑Sayed, claiming the candidate wants to abolish the holiday.

As the administration pushes to restore Columbus Day celebrations, the event underscores the political calculus surrounding cultural symbols ahead of a competitive midterm cycle.