WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump issued a resounding proclamation Thursday, designating Monday, October 13, 2025, as Columbus Day across the United States, a bold federal affirmation of Christopher Columbus’s legacy amid ongoing cultural clashes over the explorer’s storied—and contested—place in American history. The announcement, timed just days before the holiday, reaffirms the second Monday in October as a national observance, celebrating the Genoese navigator’s 1492 landfall in the Bahamas as a cornerstone of Western discovery.
In his statement, Trump hailed Columbus as “the original American hero, a giant of Western civilization,” crediting him with a “noble mission” to forge trade routes to Asia, glorify Spain, and spread Christianity. “Guided by faith, courage, and perseverance, Columbus and his crew braved the Atlantic on three small ships—the Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria—igniting an era of exploration that built our great nation,” Trump wrote. The proclamation invokes the 1934 congressional resolution, modified in 1968, urging reverence for Columbus while vowing to “reclaim his extraordinary legacy from left-wing arsonists who have sought to destroy his name.”
This move reverses the Biden administration’s 2021 dual recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which Trump dismissed as “slanderous erasure.” “Outrageously, radicals toppled his statues, vandalized monuments, and exiled him from public spaces—those days are over,” the president declared. Federal offices, post offices, and banks will close, with parades planned in Italian-American strongholds like New York and Chicago. The holiday, one of 11 federal days off, honors Columbus’s voyage while sparking annual debates: Supporters see it as cultural preservation; critics decry it as glorifying genocide against Native peoples.
Trump’s edict aligns with his April pledge to “bring Columbus Day back from the ashes,” reinforcing his administration’s push against “woke” revisions. As the nation pauses for barbecues and reflections, October 13 stands as a flashpoint: Triumph of heritage, or a step backward? With midterms looming, Trump’s holiday hammer drop rallies his base while deepening divides over America’s founding myths.
