Salem Radio Network host Scott Jennings reminded Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida Tuesday about the tearing down of statues during the 2020 George Floyd riots after Frost attacked President Donald Trump for ordering a review of exhibits at the Smithsonian.
During and after the riots in the wake of the death of George Floyd in police custody in May 2020, several statues were vandalized and torn down by rioters or later removed by local governments. Trump ordered a review of the Smithsonian’s exhibits Tuesday, prompting a clash between Frost and attorney Arthur Aidala on “CNN NewsNight” over statues of Christopher Columbus, which Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani of New York City reportedly vowed to take down if elected.
“Mamdani’s not saying he‘s going to go into institutions and museums and change things,” Frost claimed, with Aidala responding, “No, he said he’s going to take down the statue of Christopher Columbus, which is a historic landmark.”
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Trump ordered federal agencies to restore monuments removed during the Biden administration in a March 28 executive order. He directed the Smithsonian to review its exhibits as part of the preparations for America 250 under the terms of that order, Fox News reported.
“Listen, one of the — one of the things about Trump is that he forces people to think about politics in areas that they’ve never thought about politics before,” host Abby Phillip claimed. “Most Americans never thought that the president of the United States would have their hand in Smithsonian exhibits and he is doing that right now and I can’t think of a single good reason why.”
“Yeah, the last time we sort of talked about the changing of historical exhibits was when all these angry mobs all over the country tore down historical statues all over the place, and the people who seem to be angriest about the Smithsonian review were cheering that on. So I agree with you. Occasionally, parts of our society do look into —” Jennings responded when Frost interrupted, claiming, “They put those statues in museums.”
One statue removed in the aftermath of the riots following Floyd’s death, depicting Confederate general Robert E. Lee, was secretly melted down after its widely-opposed removal.
“No, they didn’t —” Jennings said before Aidala jumped in, adding, “They want those statues gone.”
“It didn’t look like they were putting them in museums when they were tying ropes around them and dragging them down,” Jennings told Frost. “You may be misremembering how it happened, but that’s what happened.”
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