Trump Says Democrats Ruined Explorer's “Reputation,” Vows To Bring “Back” Columbus Day
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President Donald Trump announced that he will fully restore Columbus Day to only celebrate Christopher Columbus—and not Indigenous Peoples’ Day like the Democrats.
He added that he would not continue the practice started by President Joe Biden of recognizing indigenous peoples at the same time.
Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he is “bringing Columbus Day back from the ashes.”
Trump complained about how the Democrats ruined Christopher Columbus’ reputation
Image credits: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Joe Biden had issued proclamations to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day along with Columbus Day during his presidency.
This was in honor of Native Americans and to recognize their struggles under colonization. While nationally it was still Columbus Day, some states replaced it with Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Biden had directed in 2021 that the U.S. flag be displayed on all public buildings “in honor of our diverse history and the Indigenous peoples who contribute to shaping this Nation.”
This change had come after years of activism to update the narrative of Columbus’ navigation to the Americas to his exploitation of indigenous people.
Columbus’ expeditions had never gone to North America—or anywhere that is currently part of the U.S.
But his voyages opened the way for European exploration and colonization.
Hailing from Genoa, Italy, the explorer became a symbol of pride for Italian immigrants who came to the U.S. in the 1800s.
Image credits: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency
In 1891, after 11 Italian immigrants were lynched in New Orleans, President Benjamin Harrison proclaimed the first national Columbus Day. In 1934, Franklin D. Roosevelt made it into a federal holiday.
Biden was not the first to bring about this change; in 1992, before the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ arrival in the New World, Berkeley became the first city to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Cities including Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco have since followed suit.
Trump has a history of dismissing stories of diversity and oppression in his reading of U.S. history, rejecting the “woke” shift and now promising to bring back Columbus Day in its traditional form.
Previously, Trump had spoken out against the demolition of Columbus’ statues during protests.
Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“Now they are even trying to destroy statues of Christopher Columbus. What’s next? Has to be stopped, it’s heritage,” Trump said in 2017 at the Heritage Foundation’s annual President’s Club gathering, responding to the defacing of Columbus’ statue in New York.
He called the act part of a broader effort by the left to erase traditional American icons and history.
Later, in 2020, Trump’s administration even paid to restore a Columbus statue in Baltimore that had been toppled by protesters after the killing of George Floyd.
Trump said this was to protect Columbus’ legacy and was important to respecting Italian-American history and values.
Columbus Day is celebrated on the second Monday of October. Trump has not shared more on what specific actions he will take to end the joint celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.