Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have expressed differing views about Columbus Day.
Donald Trump’s campaign has criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for her past support to rename Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day.
When he was president, Donald Trump regularly praised the 15th century Italian explorer in his Columbus Day proclamations, while notably not mentioning Indigenous peoples.
« Kamala Harris is your stereotypical leftist », said Karoline Leavitt, the national press secretary for the Trump campaign, in a statement on Monday. « Not only does she want to raise taxes and defund the police—she also wants to cancel American traditions like Columbus Day. »
« President Trump will make sure Christopher Columbus’ great legacy is honored and protect this holiday from radical leftists who want to erase our nation’s history like Kamala Harris », Leavitt added.
Newsweek reached out to the Harris campaign for comment.
Columbus Day is a federal holiday on the second Monday of October, marking Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas in 1492. Some, especially within Native American communities, have argued to change the focus of the holiday in part because of the bloodshed the Italian explorer left behind.
In 2021, Joe Biden became the first president to issue an official proclamation commemorating Indigenous Peoples Day, also on the second October Monday, to « honor America’s first inhabitants and the Tribal Nations. » Maine, New Mexico, Vermont and D.C. have renamed the day Indigenous Peoples Day in 2019. Several states still have an official public holiday exclusively called Columbus Day and others like Nebraska or Pennsylvania celebrate both.
