Trump vows to bring Columbus Day back ‘from the ashes,’ bashes Dems for destroying explorer’s ‘reputation’

President Trump on Sunday vowed to bring Columbus Day back “from the ashes” — railing against critics of the controversial European explorer who the holiday honors.

Columbus Day remains largely a celebrated national holiday, but the president suggested he has plans to boost it and its namesake even more amid mainly progressive complaints about the mistreatment of indigenous tribes after Christopher Columbus connected Europeans to the Americas.

“I’m bringing Columbus Day back from the ashes,” Trump wrote in a fiery post on Truth Social. “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! Well, you’ll be happy to know, Christopher is going to make a major comeback,” Trump wrote.

“I am hereby reinstating Columbus Day under the same rules, dates, and locations, as it has had for all of the many decades before!”

In recent decades, progressive critics have attempted to supplant Columbus Day with “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” over complaints about the treatment that Native American tribes endured under colonization.

But the national Columbus Day holiday is still recognized by the federal government and localities across the country, including ones that hold celebrations such as the Columbus Day Parade in New York City. Federal workers get the day off.

Former President Joe Biden became the first president in 2021 to officially commemorate Indigenous Peoples’ Day, though it is not a federally recognized holiday.

Biden, 82, also celebrated Columbus Day, which occurs on the second Monday of October, during his four years in office. 

Washington, DC, and more than a dozen states recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Many of those states celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day in addition to Columbus Day. 

Given Columbus’ Italian heritage, he remains a celebrated figure for many in the Italian American community. 

“He told us when we endorsed him he would SAVE COLUMBUS DAY! Promises kept! A true PAISAN!” the Italian American Civil Rights League said in a statement about Trump’s Sunday remarks about Columbus Day. 

Columbus Day has been a federally recognized holiday since 1937 amid lobbying efforts from Italian American groups such as the Knights of Columbus.