Trump Vows to Bring Back Columbus Day, Says “They Tore Down His Statues and Put Up Woke”

Nationwide — President Trump has vowed to bring Columbus Day “back from the ashes,” promising to bolster celebrations of the European explorer despite ongoing criticism from progressives and Indigenous groups. In a fiery post on Truth Social, Trump lashed out at Democrats and activists who have challenged Christopher Columbus’s legacy, accusing them of trying to erase American traditions and diminish the contributions of Italian Americans.

Columbus Day, first established as a federal holiday in 1937, honors the 1492 voyage that connected Europe to the Americas. However, historians and Indigenous leaders have increasingly pointed out that Columbus’s arrival triggered centuries of violence, enslavement, and genocide against Native populations. In response to these revelations, many cities and states across the country have renamed the holiday Indigenous Peoples’ Day or have stopped recognizing Columbus Day altogether. The debate reflects a larger reckoning over how history is taught and whose stories are celebrated.

“I’m bringing Columbus Day back from the ashes,” Trump wrote. “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!” Trump’s statement leaned heavily into his ongoing culture war narrative, portraying efforts to diversify historical narratives as an attack on American heritage.

Critics argue that Trump’s focus on reviving Columbus Day fits into a broader pattern of favoring historical narratives that center white European figures, while ignoring or minimizing the contributions and suffering of Black Americans, Indigenous people, and other minorities. During his presidency and afterward, Trump has frequently condemned movements like Black Lives Matter and efforts to incorporate more Black and Indigenous history into school curricula, accusing them of being “divisive” or “unpatriotic.”

According to the New York Post, Trump further declared, “I am hereby reinstating Columbus Day under the same rules, dates, and locations, as it has had for all of the many decades before!” The post suggests that Trump wants to aggressively protect traditional celebrations of figures like Columbus, despite mounting evidence and scholarly consensus about the darker aspects of their legacies. His messaging signals a desire to restore an older, sanitized version of American history that overlooks racial injustices.

The controversy surrounding Columbus Day is part of a much larger cultural battle over how America remembers its past. While many Italian Americans see Columbus as a symbol of ethnic pride and immigrant success, others argue that lifting up Columbus without acknowledging the brutal consequences of colonization perpetuates historical amnesia. Trump’s vow to revive the holiday highlights how the fight over monuments, holidays, and historical memory remains a deeply political — and deeply racialized — issue in the United States.