OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
11:54 AM – Friday, October 10, 2025

President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation honoring explorer Christopher Columbus, reaffirming the significance of Columbus Day for Italian-Americans and celebrating his voyages that connected Europe and the Americas.

During Thursday’s cabinet meeting, the president was joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth when he received the proclamation officially reinstating Columbus Day on the second Monday of October.

Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 in the Republic of Genoa (modern-day Italy), and was known as Cristoforo Colombo. As a young man, he moved to Portugal, where he gained experience in navigation and maritime trade, and later settled in Spain, where he spent much of his adult life and secured support for his voyages.

The Trump administration’s recent proclamation summarizes how Columbus “emerged as a titan of the Age of Exploration” for his two-month journey on the Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria.

Staff Secretary Will Scharf provided a brief overview of Columbus Day’s history and its significance for Italian-Americans, a point the president underscored by saying, “In other words, we’re calling it Columbus Day,” to which the press responded with applause.

“That was the press that broke out in applause,” Trump quipped. “Can you believe that? I’ve never seen that happen before, the press… the press actually broke out in applause.”

Scharf proceeded to offer a concise overview of the holiday’s historical origins.

“Columbus made landfall in the modern-day Bahamas.  Upon his arrival, he planted a majestic cross in a mighty act of devotion, dedicating the land to God and setting in motion America’s proud birthright of faith,” the document read.

“Guided by steadfast prayer and unwavering fortitude and resolve, Columbus’s journey carried thousands of years of wisdom, philosophy, reason, and culture across the Atlantic into the Americas — paving the way for the ultimate triumph of Western civilization less than three centuries later on July 4, 1776.”

Columbus Day has been a federal holiday since 1971, but has been celebrated by Italian-Americans for even longer. In recent years, however, progressive activists have argued that the holiday celebrates “colonialism and the genocide of indigenous people,” working to swap it for “Indigenous Peoples’ Day.” Columbus statues were also toppled in the 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) Riots.

“Outrageously, in recent years, Christopher Columbus has been a prime target of a vicious and merciless campaign to erase our history, slander our heroes, and attack our heritage,” said the proclamation. “Before our very eyes, left-wing radicals toppled his statues, vandalized his monuments, tarnished his character, and sought to exile him from our public spaces. Under my leadership, those days are finally over — and our Nation will now abide by a simple truth: Christopher Columbus was a true American hero, and every citizen is eternally indebted to his relentless determination.”

“As we celebrate his legacy, we also acknowledge the contributions of the countless Italian-Americans who, like him, have endlessly contributed to our culture and our way of life,” the document added.

“Columbus Day, we’re back! Columbus Day. We’re back, Italians! Okay? We love the Italians,” Trump declared.

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