Columbus Day: Trump accuses ‘radical activists’ of trying to undermine explorer’s legacy in holiday proclamation

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said he was “feeling great” as he made his first public appearance since returning to the White House after being treated for the coronavirus. (Oct. 10) AP Domestic

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump used a White House proclamation to commemorate Columbus Day and to accuse “radical activists” of trying to undermine the Christopher Columbus’ legacy. 

The proclamation, issued Friday, called on Americans to observe the holiday with “appropriate ceremonies and activities” and ordered that the American flag be displayed on all public buildings. 

“Sadly, in recent years, radical activists have sought to undermine Christopher Columbus’s legacy. These extremists seek to replace discussion of his vast contributions with talk of failings, his discoveries with atrocities and his achievements with transgressions,” Trump said in the announcement declaring Monday Columbus Day. 

Advocates for Native Americans have sought to change the federal holiday to Indigenous Peoples Day, arguing that celebrating Columbus ignores the explorer’s widespread use of slavery and genocide against indigenous populations during his expeditions of the Americas. 

Fourteen states – Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin – plus the District of Columbia and more than 130 cities observe Indigenous Peoples Day instead of or in addition to Columbus Day. 

Several statues to Columbus as well as those in memory of Confederate leaders were removed or toppled this summer amid nationwide protests over racial injustice, touched off by the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May.

“We must teach future generations about our storied heritage, starting with the protection of monuments to our intrepid heroes like Columbus,” Trump added.

More: Indigenous Peoples Day or Columbus Day? 14 states celebrate, honor Native American histories and cultures

More: The fight over monuments asks who is an American hero and who is a ‘symbol of hate’?

Protesters pulled down a statue of Christopher Columbus in Maryland on Independence Day and threw it into the Baltimore Harbor. USA TODAY

The president has repeatedly pressed state and local law enforcement agencies to protect monuments as many cities weigh the removal of statues amid a national reckoning on race.

Trump signed an executive order in June to prosecute to the fullest extent anyone who vandalizes or destroys a monument, memorial or statue. Violators could be sentenced to prison for up to 10 years. 

During an impassioned speech in front of Mount Rushmore on the eve of the Fourth of July, Trump announced an executive order to establish a “National Garden of American Heroes” featuring statues of “historically significant Americans.” 

Last month, the president ordered federal agencies to end racial sensitivity training that addresses white privilege and critical race theory, programs which he said in the proclamation “are grounded in the same type of revisionist history that is trying to erase Christopher Columbus from our national heritage.”

Trump also has called for a “pro-American curriculum” in schools across the country.

“Together, we must safeguard our history and stop this new wave of iconoclasm by standing against those who spread hate and division,” the proclamation said.

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