President Donald Trump signed a proclamation last week officially restoring Columbus Day, declaring Oct. 13 as the holiday this year.
“Columbus Day, we’re back,” Trump said at the Oct. 9 signing ceremony. “We’re back, Italians.”
President Trump just signed a proclamation bringing back Columbus Day:
“Columbus day—we’re back, Italians!”
pic.twitter.com/VFL8iCy0Qf
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 9, 2025
White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf introduced the proclamation before handing it to Trump, calling Columbus a “great Italian explorer” who “discovered the New World in 1492.”
“He sailed his three ships, the Niña, the Pinta, and Santa Maria, across the Atlantic Ocean, and landed in what’s today the Caribbean,” Scharf said. “And this is a particularly important holiday for Italian Americans who celebrate the legacy of Christopher Columbus, and the innovation and explorer zeal that he represented.”
As Trump signed the proclamation, applause broke out. “That was the press that broke out in applause,” Trump said. “I’ve never seen that happen.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni praised the move in an Oct. 9 statement, thanking Trump “for restoring Columbus Day and for thus reminding us that history cannot be erased.”
According to FOX News, Columbus Day became a federal holiday in 1971, but in recent years, activists have pushed to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day, arguing that Columbus represents colonialism and genocide against Native Americans.
The White House proclamation said Columbus dedicated the land he discovered “to God” and set “in motion America’s proud birthright of faith.”
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