“Back from the ashes.”
That is what President Donald Trump vowed he will do to a once-proud holiday that he says was tarnished by Democrats.
Yesterday, Trump announced that he will bring back Columbus Day “from the ashes,” while calling out Democrats for doing everything possible to destroy Christopher Columbus’ reputation.
“I'm bringing Columbus Day back from the ashes…” —President Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/SBjEAhcrxy
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 27, 2025
“I’m bringing Columbus Day back from the ashes,” the president wrote in a post on 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,” Trump 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!”
Reports on the origins of Columbus Day — commemorating Christopher Columbus — stem from efforts to combat racism against Italian immigrants, who endured everything from racial epithets to lynch mobs when they first arrived in the United States.
In October 2021, then-President Joe Biden issued the first-ever presidential proclamation for “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” as a replacement for Columbus Day.
“For generations, Federal policies systematically sought to assimilate and displace Native people and eradicate Native cultures,” Biden said in the proclamation in 2021.
“Today, we recognize Indigenous peoples’ resilience and strength as well as the immeasurable positive impact that they have made on every aspect of American society.”
During Trump’s first term, he did not mention Indigenous Peoples Day by name.
“Columbus’s spirit of determination and adventure has provided inspiration to generations of Americans. On Columbus Day, we honor his remarkable accomplishments as a navigator, and celebrate his voyage into the unknown expanse of the Atlantic Ocean,” Trump said in 2018.
“His expedition formed the initial bond between Europe and the Americas, and changed the world forever,” he continued.
“Today, in that spirit, we continue to seek new horizons for greater opportunity and further discovery on land, in sea, and in space.”
In recent years, the Columbus Day holiday has come under heightened scrutiny, with many opting to honor Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead.
In fact, several statues of Columbus have been removed, defaced or even dragged and submerged into water over the past few years because of the controversy surrounding the historical figure.
Trump’s Columbus Day announcement comes on the heels of he and first lady Melania Trump flying to Rome, Italy, where they attended Pope Francis’s funeral alongside an array of other world leaders paying their respects to the departed pope on Saturday.