President Donald Trump has vowed to bring Columbus Day “back from the ashes.”
In a Truth Social post Sunday, the president announced that he would be “reinstating” the federal holiday and blamed the Democratic Party for doing “everything possible” to “destroy” the reputation of its namesake, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus.
“I’m bringing Columbus Day back from the ashes. The Democrats did everything possible to destroy Christopher Columbus, his reputation, and all of the Italians that love him so much,” Trump penned.
“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. I am hereby reinstating Columbus Day under the same rules, dates, and locations, as it has had for all of the many decades before!” he concluded.
While Columbus Day is still a federal holiday, several states and cities have moved to celebrate the second Monday in October as “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” instead. The change was made to recognize the colonial violence Columbus inflicted on Native communities in the 15th century.
Reckoning with Columbus’ controversial history has also resulted in several of his statues being removed from locations across the country. CBS News reported in 2020 that at least 33 Columbus statues had been removed, or were in the process of being removed, over the course of a few months.
In 2021, former President Joe Biden became the first president to formally recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day and said in a proclamation at the time, “For generations, Federal policies systematically sought to assimilate and displace Native people and eradicate Native cultures.”
“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,” he continued.
Trump’s announcement came on the heels of a recent CNN poll showing that his approval rate at 100 days has plummeted to a low point not seen in the last seven decades.
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