President Donald Trump declared an end to the "plunder" of statues of explorer Christopher Columbus in renewed comments opposing criticism of the historical figure.
In an Oct. 11 Truth Social post celebrating Columbus Day, which is on Oct. 12 this year, Trump said Italian Americans were "forced to suffer" as statues of Columbus were removed across the country in recent years. Critics of the explorer have argued that honoring him glorifies the exploitation and genocide of native peoples.
"Radical Left Dumocrats, Socialists, and Communists rampaged through our cities and towns ripping down almost all of the beautiful statues of Christopher Columbus. Well, those days of plunder are over, and the statues are back, more magnificent than ever," Trump
wrote.
Some cities and states have shifted to celebrating the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples' Day instead of Columbus Day, the federal holiday that has honored the explorer for more than a century.
While former President Joe Biden issued the first presidential proclamation for Indigenous Peoples' Day in 2021, Trump has pushed to refocus the day toward Columbus since returning to office.
Here's what Trump has said about Columbus Day and why the day is controversial.
Trump says he 'resurrected' Christopher Columbus
Trump's latest post came days after he commemorated Columbus Day at an Oct. 9 event. There, the president attributed his support from Italian Americans to his backing of the Italian explorer.
"The reason I get all of the Italian vote, I really believe – I didn't do it for this reason – I resurrected Christopher Columbus," he said.
The president cited a new statue of Columbus that went up on White House grounds earlier this year. After protesters toppled a sculpture of Columbus in Baltimore in 2020, officials installed a 13-foot replica of the piece, made from fragments of the original sculpture, in March in front of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
"In this administration, we know that Christopher Columbus is – to us he's a hero," Trump said.
He also called for the return of a Columbus statue that was removed from outside city hall in Columbus, Ohio, in 2020.
Trump's push for Columbus Day is not new
Trump has for years argued that Columbus' legacy is mistreated.
"Sadly, in recent years, radical activists have sought to undermine Christopher Columbus’s legacy," he said in a 2020 Columbus Day proclamation. "These extremists seek to replace discussion of his vast contributions with talk of failings, his discoveries with atrocities, and his achievements with transgressions."
In April 2025, a few months into his second term, Trump declared that he was "bringing Columbus Day back from the ashes" in a Truth Social post.
In another proclamation signed in October 2025, Trump wrote that Columbus "has been a prime target of a vicious and merciless campaign to erase our history, slander our heroes, and attack our heritage."
Why is Columbus Day controversial?
Columbus Day is still marked as a federal holiday, but some states and cities instead honor the day as Indigenous Peoples' Day.
The push recognizes that Native Americans populated the country before Columbus' arrival. It also acknowledges the atrocities – including devastating loss of life, tradition and lands – that resulted from European contact in the Americas, according to the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.
In 2021, Biden became the first president to issue a proclamation recognizing Indigenous Peoples' Day.
"For generations, Federal policies systematically sought to assimilate and displace Native people and eradicate Native cultures. Today, we recognize Indigenous peoples’ resilience and strength as well as the immeasurable positive impact that they have made on every aspect of American society," Biden wrote in the proclamation.
Contributing: Zac Anderson, Michelle Del Rey
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. Keep up with her on X @melinakh and Instagram @bymelinakhan.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says 'days of plunder are over' in renewed push for Columbus Day
