(LifeSiteNews) — The Trump administration has made a strong statement in response to woke protesters who in recent years tried to erase American history.
This past Sunday, a new statue of Christopher Columbus was installed on White House grounds in Washington D.C.
The 13-foot, one-ton statue was installed just outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is directly west of the White House.
The statue was created from broken marble shards statue belonging to a Columbus statue that previously stood in Baltimore, Maryland. The statue was first unveiled in 1984 by President Reagan but shamefully torn down by leftist protesters in 2020.
The statue “may represent different things to different people,” Baltimore’s then-Mayor Jack Young said after it was destroyed.
The statue is part of President Trump’s 250th anniversary celebration of the founding of the United States. Trump has announced a flurry of other patriotic initiatives as well, including a re-dedication of America to God on the National Mall this summer.
Many Catholic Americans had hoped Pope Leo would visited the U.S. and partake in the ceremonies given he was born in America, but the Vatican has said he is occupied with other travels.
READ: Pope Leo will not be present to receive freedom award in US this summer
Basil M. Russo, who serves as head of the the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations, praised Trump’s decision to install the statue near the White House.
“Columbus statues have long stood as symbols of pride and cultural identity for more than 18 million Americans of Italian descent,” said Russo in a statement.
The attempt to whitewash America’s cultural history has been a top priority of the Marxist left in recent years. Claims of “white supremacy” and accusations of America being founded on “stolen land” are often hurled at Christians to justify the tearing down of statues and replacing them with fringe historical figures who have contributed very little to Western Civilization.
