WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Donald Trump announced in a post via Truth Social Sunday he would bring Columbus Day “back from the ashes,” despite the occasion never losing its status as a federal holiday.
The holiday commemorates the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas, which has become cause for scrutiny given the complex legacy of explorers in the New World. The occasion was made a federal holiday in 1968 under former President Lyndon Johnson.
“I’m bringing Columbus Day back from the ashes,” Trump wrote via Truth Social. “The Democrats did everything possible to destroy Christopher Columbus, his reputation, and all of the Italians that love him so much. They tore down his Statues, and put up nothing but ‘WOKE,’ or even worse, nothing at all!”
“Well, you’ll be happy to know, Christopher is going to make a major comeback,” he added. “I am hereby reinstating Columbus Day under the same rules, dates, and locations, as it has had for all of the many decades before!”
While several states and jurisdictions have declined to recognize Columbus Day in favor of “Indigenous Peoples’ Day,” the occasion had never been removed as a federal holiday. Only Congress has the power to create or remove federal holidays.
Presidents are limited in their ability to create holidays but can issue executive orders or proclamations recognizing certain occasions, like a national day of mourning. These orders only apply once per year and would require a new order for each annual observance.
While Democrats did not “destroy” Columbus Day as Trump claimed, they have expressed disagreement with the message behind the holiday in the past.
Former President Joe Biden in 2021 declared a national Indigenous Peoples’ Day to “honor America’s first inhabitants and the Tribal Nations that continue to thrive today.” That move did not rename Columbus Day.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris condemned the “shameful” history of the U.S. during a 2021 Columbus Day address.
“Those explorers ushered in a wave of devastation for tribal nations, perpetrating violence, stealing land and spreading disease,” she said. “We must not shy away from this shameful past.”
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