WASHINGTON — President Trump marked Columbus Day with a fiery social media message, accusing Democrats of tearing down monuments honoring Christopher Columbus, the Italian-born explorer.
“HAPPY COLUMBUS DAY TO ALL, in particular our great Italian American Community,” Trump wrote Sunday on Truth Social, one day before the holiday. He claimed the community had been “forced to suffer” as what he called “Radical Left Dumocrats, Socialists, and Communists” moved through cities and towns, removing “almost all of the beautiful statues” of Columbus.
“Well, those days of plunder are over, and the statues are back, more magnificent than ever,” Trump continued. “This is a big day for our great Italian American Community, and the Country of Italy itself, maybe the biggest. Congratulations!”
Last year, Trump signed a proclamation directing that Oct. 13 be observed as a day honoring Columbus.
Across the United States, a number of states and municipalities have sought to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Opponents of the traditional holiday describe Columbus as a colonizer rather than the European figure long credited with “discovering” America.
Critics have highlighted the violence and suffering inflicted on Indigenous people in the Americas following Columbus’ arrival in 1492.
They have also pointed out that the Norse explorer Leif Erikson led an expedition to what is now Canada centuries before Columbus reached the Americas.
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Earlier this year, the Trump administration launched an effort to restore the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain at Washington’s Union Station, near the US Capitol. The fountain had been damaged and left broken since 2007.
After 19 years of disrepair, the memorial reopened in May.
Columbus Day became a national holiday in 1937. In 1971, Congress shifted its observance to the second Monday in October.
Former President Joe Biden issued the first presidential proclamation recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day during his first year in office and renewed the designation throughout his presidency.
Trump also took credit last week for restoring Columbus Day celebrations.
“I resurrected Christopher Columbus,” he said at a ceremony adding a Columbus statue to the White House Rose Garden.
“He’s been rehabbed 100 percent, and he’s been resurrected in the true sense,” Trump added. “He’s back to where he should be.”
