Trump Says He Is 'Bringing Back' a Federal Holiday (Which Never Went Away)
President Donald Trump announced he’s “bringing back” a holiday, which never went away.
The 78-year-old President of the United States announced on TruthSocial on Sunday (April 27) that he is reinstating Columbus Day “from the ashes.”
“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. They tore down his Statues, and put up nothing but ‘WOKE,’ or even worse, nothing at all!” he wrote.
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“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!”
As Axios notes, a president cannot erase or declare federal holidays, as Congress is required to do so.
What’s more, Columbus Day is still a federal holiday, though Indigenous Peoples Day has replaced it in over 200 cities and multiple states as of 2024.
Maine, Vermont, New Mexico and Washington D.C., Los Angeles and Seattle are among the U.S. locations celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day on the second Monday in October, the same day as Columbus Day.
New York, Rhode Island and Nebraska recognize both holidays, while over half of U.S. states don’t recognize either day as a state holiday.
New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich presented a bill, and multiple representatives also did so in the House in 2023 to make Indigenous Peoples Day a federal holiday instead of Columbus Day, but the bills never made it to a floor vote.
President Joe Biden became the first president to formally acknowledge the holiday with a proclamation, but continued to acknowledge Columbus Day, and issued proclamations throughout his presidency about the holiday.
Christopher Columbus‘s history of colonization, torture and genocide of indigenous people has resulted in mixed reactions to the explorer being federally recognized with a holiday.
Regardless, it remains a federal holiday, despite what Trump said.
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