In a dig at “woke culture,” the Trump administration is pushing to install a statue of Christopher Columbus on White House grounds. In partnership with the Italian American Organizations United, the Trump administration is securing a reconstruction of the statue, which was destroyed in 2020 during the racial justice protests.

The Columbus statue would be another new addition in a series of changes Trump has made to the White House, including his $400 million ballroom project and the return of the Confederate monument to General Albert Pike last year.

Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer and navigator, is often credited with having “discovered” the “New World,” despite historical records indicating other groups—such as the Vikings—visited North America earlier.

Columbus’s voyage to the Caribbean changed the world, beginning centuries-long colonization, migration, and the exploitation of people in North and South America, as well as around the world.

In recent decades, Columbus and Columbus Day have received intense scrutiny given evidence that Columbus violently abused and destroyed the Taino people, who were indigenous to Haiti. The details of his violence are grotesque, including information that he raped and enslaved many of the Taino people.

White House spokesperson David Ingle said in a statement, “In this White House, Christopher Columbus is a hero. And he will continue to be honored as such by President Trump.”

Last October, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation promising to honor Columbus’s legacy. The President also went on to explain that he—and the rest of America—was indebted to Christopher Columbus.

Commemorations and memorials to historical figures and political leaders have come under scrutiny over the past two decades. The successful removal of statues honoring and commemorating Confederate generals throughout the American South has sparked conversations around the morality of figures once revered, including Columbus.