Trump Declares October 13 Columbus Day, Vows to Restore Columbus’s “Extraordinary Legacy”
President Donald Trump signed a presidential proclamation on Thursday officially recognizing October 13 as Columbus Day, pledging to “reclaim [Christopher Columbus’s] extraordinary legacy of faith, courage, perseverance, and virtue” from what he called “left-wing arsonists” who have attempted to erase him from American history.
At a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Trump held up the signed document and declared, “We’re calling it Columbus Day,” before adding with a grin, “We’re back, Italians.”
Trump’s proclamation presents a sharp contrast to recent Democratic approaches. While President Joe Biden continued the tradition of recognizing Columbus Day, he emphasized Italian-American heritage and, in 2021, became the first president to issue a separate proclamation for Indigenous Peoples Day to coincide with the same date. Many left-wing activists and Democratic-led cities and states have moved to replace or diminish Columbus Day, citing concerns over colonialism and racism.
In his statement, Trump celebrated Columbus as “the original American hero, a giant of Western civilization, and one of the most gallant and visionary men to ever walk the face of the earth.”
He condemned what he described as an ideological campaign of erasure:
“Outrageously, in recent years, Christopher Columbus has been a prime target of a vicious and merciless campaign to erase our history, slander our heroes, and attack our heritage,” the proclamation reads. “Before our very eyes, left-wing radicals toppled his statues, vandalized his monuments, tarnished his character, and sought to exile him from our public spaces.”
Trump declared that “under my leadership, those days are finally over,” and promised that his administration would enforce a “simple truth: Christopher Columbus was a true American hero, and every citizen is eternally indebted to his relentless determination.”
The renewed federal recognition comes amid ongoing battles over Columbus statues, many of which were torn down or removed during the 2020 George Floyd riots. In those years, protesters targeted monuments across the country—Columbus statues among the most visible casualties in what Trump has described as an “unholy war on American history.”
Though Columbus never set foot in what is now the continental United States, his 1492 voyage is widely credited with launching European exploration and colonization of the Americas—making him a revered figure among many Italian-Americans and conservatives, and a lightning rod among leftist academics and activists.
In a symbolic gesture toward broader exploration history, Trump also signed a second proclamation declaring October 9 Leif Erikson Day—honoring the Norse explorer long thought to have reached North America centuries before Columbus.
“This Leif Erikson Day, we summon his courage, we honor his enduring legacy of adventure and exploration, and we renew our resolve to advance the limits of human achievement,” Trump stated.
With both proclamations, Trump reaffirmed his administration’s cultural stance: defending traditional historical figures and rejecting what he sees as leftist revisionism.
“Christopher Columbus will not be canceled,” Trump concluded. “Not on my watch.”