President Donald Trump folded Columbus Day into a weekend attack on Democrats, celebrating Christopher Columbus monuments, mocking “Dumocrats” and arguing that the party’s name no longer matches its politics.
Trump’s holiday broadside framed Italian Americans as the victims of the push to tear down Columbus monuments.
“HAPPY COLUMBUS DAY TO ALL, in particular our great Italian American Community which was forced to suffer as the Radical Left Dumocrats, Socialists, and Communists rampaged through our cities and towns ripping down almost all of the beautiful statues of Christopher Columbus,” Trump wrote early Sunday on Truth Social.
“Well, those days of plunder are over, and the statues are back, more magnificent than ever,” he continued. “This is a big day for our great Italian American Community, and the Country of Italy itself, maybe the biggest. Congratulations!”
On Saturday, Trump used “Dumocrat” while arguing that Democrats had drifted so far left that the party needed a new name.
“I think that the Democrats have become the Socialists of America and I think that they ought to get rid of the name Democrat because it’s no longer accurate,” Trump told reporters Saturday. “But you have a combination of socialists and communists, and I think frankly, the word democrat is a — or ‘dumocrat,’ as I call them — but I think it’s a very inaccurate name.”
“Democrat is a — they’re really socialists, they’ve become socialists,” Trump repeated. “And they’re being dragged much further left than socialists.”
On Friday, Columbus Day became campaign ammunition when Trump accused Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed of wanting “to abolish Columbus Day.”
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“As you know, the radical left communists hate Columbus, and they want to abolish Columbus Day,” Trump said. “They’re still trying very hard.”
Trump mocked El-Sayed’s name while accusing him of wanting to end the holiday.
“You know this guy, I call him Mohammed Al Fayad. Some people call him Abdul. I call him Mohammed. Somebody said, ‘Why?’ I said, ‘I don’t know. I feel like it.’ But he wants to abolish Columbus Day… Can you believe it?”
Outside Trump’s own remarks, Columbus Day has been changed in a number of states, where it has either been replaced by or joined with Indigenous Peoples’ Day after left-wing pressure.
🚨 NOW: President Trump says he's calling Abdul El Sayed "MOHAMMED Al-Fayed"
🔥🔥
"I call him Mohammed Al-Fayed. Some people call him Abdul. I call him Mohammed. Somebody said, 'Why?' I said, 'I don't know, I feel like it.'" 😂
"But he wants to abolish Columbus Day…can you…
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 9, 2026
Trump has continued praising Columbus while opponents of the explorer have sought to recast his legacy and remove monuments over his alleged treatment of Native Americans.
In September, Trump pointed to a new White House-adjacent monument as proof that Columbus had returned to a place of prominence.
“Christopher Columbus proudly stands at the entrance to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, directly adjacent to the White House, one of the most important Entrances to a Building in D.C. I did this in Honor of the Italian American Community — Industrious, brilliant, wonderful people. It is something that they have greatly appreciated!” Trump wrote.
Trump was making Columbus Day part of his message as far back as 2018. That year, he saluted the explorer’s “spirit of determination & adventure” and his voyage across the Atlantic.
“Christopher Columbus’s spirit of determination & adventure has provided inspiration to generations of Americans. On #ColumbusDay, we honor his remarkable accomplishments as a navigator, & celebrate his voyage into the unknown expanse of the Atlantic Ocean,” Trump wrote then.
His 2018 proclamation called for public observances and ordered U.S. flags displayed on public buildings.
“I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I also direct that the flag of the United States be displayed on all public buildings on the appointed day in honor of our diverse history and all who have contributed to shaping this Nation,” the proclamation read.
Several self-described Democratic socialists, including candidates connected to the Democratic Socialists of America, were on track for U.S. House seats as Trump pressed his case that Democrats had moved beyond the party’s old label.
Their campaigns mostly stopped short of the full DSA agenda while still calling to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement, police and prisons. The organization’s official platform goes further, seeking the abolition of the U.S. Senate and a reinterpretation of both the presidency and the Supreme Court.
The same weekend, Trump carved out an exception for Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), saying he would gladly take the Pennsylvania Democrat into the Republican Party.
At Joint Base Andrews, a reporter questioned Trump about whether he had discussed a Republican switch with Fetterman after the president stepped off Air Force One.
“I’d love to see it. I think he’s great,” Trump responded.
“It’s going to be hard for him to get the nomination as a Democrat, but I’d love to have him as a Republican,” he continued.
Trump called Fetterman a “great guy,” praised his “magnificent parents” and described him as a “very solid person” with “great common sense.”
“If you look at the polls, he does better as a Republican than he does as a Democrat,” Trump said.
Fetterman has split with his party on the Iran war and immigration, though his voting record remains overwhelmingly Democratic.
Speculation about Fetterman’s political future has grown alongside his use of Republican fundraising platforms, his close friendship with Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) and a video he recorded last month introducing Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) at the Republican Midterm Convention.
At the Texas Tribune’s TribFest last month, Fetterman accidentally described himself as a lifelong Republican.
