Trump Revives Columbus Fight – ‘We’re Back’

President Trump hosted a Columbus Day celebration at the White House, declaring “we’re back” as he honored Christopher Columbus and Italian-American heritage with a signed proclamation.

Quick Take

President Trump signed a proclamation naming October 13, 2025, as Columbus Day, calling the explorer “the original American hero.”
His Cabinet applauded as he signed the document, with Trump repeating “Columbus Day, we’re back” twice for emphasis.
Federal law has required this proclamation every year since 1968, meaning Trump continued an existing tradition rather than creating a new one.
The event reopens a long-running fight over whether the holiday should honor Columbus or shift focus to Indigenous Peoples Day.

Trump Signs Proclamation Honoring Columbus

President Trump signed a formal proclamation on October 9, declaring October 13, 2025, as Columbus Day. The document calls on Americans to mark the day “with appropriate ceremonies and activities”. Trump described Columbus as “the original American hero, a giant of Western civilization,” language that set the tone for the White House celebration that followed days later.

The signing happened during a Cabinet meeting, where Trump’s Cabinet members broke into applause as he put pen to paper. Trump told reporters, “Christopher Columbus, obviously, discovered the New World in 1492,” adding that “he was a great Italian”. The moment capped weeks of White House messaging aimed at restoring Columbus to a central place in American civic life.

‘We’re Back, Italians’ Becomes Rallying Cry

Trump repeated a phrase that quickly spread across news coverage and social media: “Columbus Day, we’re back.” He said it twice for emphasis, then added, “We’re back, Italians. We love the Italians”. The remark framed the proclamation as a win for Italian-American communities who have long championed Columbus as a symbol of immigrant pride and contribution to the nation’s founding story.

Trump also accused “left-wing radicals” of trying to erase Columbus’s legacy, a charge that has become a regular talking point in his public remarks on the holiday. He described the explorer’s story as one of “faith, courage, and determination,” arguing that recent decades of criticism unfairly targeted a historical figure he sees as central to the American origin story.

Law Required Annual Proclamation Since 1968

Federal law has requested a Columbus Day proclamation from the president every year since Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act in 1968. The law designates the second Monday in October as Columbus Day, calls for flags to fly on government buildings, and invites Americans to observe the day in schools and churches. Trump’s 2025 proclamation followed that same legal pattern used by presidents for nearly six decades.

This means Trump’s action continued an existing federal observance rather than reviving one that had disappeared. Congress first linked the holiday to Italian-American immigrant history in a 1934 joint resolution, intending to honor “the courage and determination” of generations of immigrants who built new lives in the United States. That original purpose remains written into the law today.

🇺🇸‼️ | President Donald Trump is hosting a Columbus Day celebration at the White House. The event honors Christopher Columbus and Italian-American heritage ahead of the official holiday on October 12. Trump recently issued a proclamation designating the day and previously… pic.twitter.com/cuWlqnJpIc

— UHN Plus — Breaking News (@UHN_Breaking) October 9, 2026

Even so, the holiday carries different meaning depending on who is asked. Some states and cities have shifted their own observances toward Indigenous Peoples Day, a movement that has grown over several decades to spotlight the harm European colonization caused Native communities. That shift has not changed the federal proclamation requirement, but it has turned the second Monday in October into a yearly flashpoint over which national story deserves center stage.

A Holiday Caught Between Two Narratives

The real dispute has little to do with whether Trump had the authority to issue the proclamation. Federal law clearly gives him that role, and he exercised it as presidents have for years. The deeper disagreement is about meaning: whether October 13 should celebrate Italian-American heritage and a historic voyage, or serve as a moment to reckon with the consequences that followed for Indigenous peoples.

Trump’s White House celebration leaned fully into the first narrative, treating Columbus as a hero worth defending against modern criticism. For supporters, the event delivered recognition they feel has been missing in recent years. For critics focused on Indigenous history, the celebration sidesteps a conversation many communities say still deserves national attention.