President Trump recently announced on Truth Social the return of Columbus Day, referencing the holiday's longstanding cultural significance amidst the growing adoption of Indigenous Peoples Day in various states. Columbus Day has never been officially canceled, despite controversy over its historical implications, including Columbus's actions during colonization. While President Biden observed Indigenous Peoples Day, the federal holiday remains Columbus Day, as changes to such designations require Congressional action, highlighting the complexities of holiday recognition in the U.S.
Although frequently called public or national holidays, these celebrations are only legally applicable to federal employees and the District of Columbia, as the states individually decide their legal holidays. ... Neither Congress nor the President has asserted the authority to declare a 'national holiday' that would be binding on the 50 states, as each state individually determines its legal holidays.
Trump didn't say why he was thinking about an October holiday in the middle of spring. However, he was clearly alluding to the fact that an increasing number of states and cities celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day, either alongside or in lieu of Columbus Day.
Columbus Day has long been controversial, since the explorer never landed on the North American mainland and was a 'homicidal tyrant who initiated the two greatest crimes in the history of the Western Hemisphere, the Atlantic slave trade and the American Indian genocide,' as Vox explained in 2015.
In 2021, Joe Biden became the first president to commemorate Indigenous Peoples Day with a presidential proclamation - but each year, he also released a Columbus Day proclamation.
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