Trump brings decapitated Columbus statues back to life: Columbus Day is reborn in the US

The Statues of Christopher Columbus in the United States are coming back to life after having been vandalised and decapitalised in 2020, during the protests, and the ensuing cultural battle, that erupted following the death of African-American George Floyd, (an amateur rapper with a conviction for robbery and several other charges) caused by officer Derek Chauvin, who pressed his knee into his neck for 8 minutes and 48 seconds during the detention. Now the statues are being repaired and restored ready to be displayed again, albeit in less symbolic locations than the squares they occupied in major American cities, from Richmond to Boston.

This was reported in the New York Times. Their revival is linked to Donald Trump, who recently signed a proclamation to relaunchColumbus Day, which falls on 13 October, as a bank holiday. "Italians, we are back," Trump said shortly after signing it a few days ago. The president would also like Columbus in the Garden of American Heroes that he wants to set up, despite the controversy that has raged around the Italian navigator, believed by some to be guilty of crimes against Native Americans.