Vice President Kamala Harris’ past statements in support of renaming Columbus Day resurfaced Monday, prompting the Trump campaign and others to accuse her of trying to “cancel American traditions.”
During the Democratic nominee’s failed 2020 presidential campaign and vice presidential tenure, she repeatedly said in public remarks that she was supportive of labeling the federal holiday “Indigenous Peoples’ Day.”
“Count me in,” Harris told a voter who asked during a February 2019 campaign stop in Portsmouth, NH, whether she would change the name of the day via federal law.
“People did not want to deal and accept and, most importantly, admit that we are the scene of a crime when it comes to what we did with slavery and Jim Crow and institutionalized racism in this country, and we have to be honest about that,” Harris said at the time.
“If we are not honest, we are not going to deal with the vestiges of all of that harm, and we are not going to correct course, and we are not going to be true to our values and morals,” she added.
“Similarly, when it comes to indigenous Americans, the indigenous people, there is a lot of work that we still have to do,” Harris concluded.
In October 2021, Harris and President Biden’s administration was the first to proclaim the Indigenous Peoples’ holiday, which the vice president marked with a speech at the National Congress of American Indians Conference.
“Every October, the United States has recognized the voyage of the European explorers who first landed on the shores of the Americas,” she said then. “But that is not the whole story. That has never been the whole story.”
“Those explorers ushered in a wave of devastation for tribal nations — perpetrating violence, stealing land and spreading disease,” Harris chided. “We must not shy away from this shameful past. And we must shed light on it and do everything we can to address the impact of the past on native communities today.”
The Trump campaign in a press release claimed the vice president has “exclusively celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day over Columbus Day each year she has been in the office” on her X account.
“Kamala Harris is your stereotypical leftist. Not only does she want to raise taxes and defund the police — she also wants to cancel American traditions like Columbus Day,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement referencing Harris’ 2019 comments.
“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.”
Not all Democrats have denounced Columbus Day, which was first designated a national holiday in 1934 to mark explorer Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas in 1492.
On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we honor Tribal Nations and the invaluable contributions of Indigenous peoples. Their wisdom, ingenuity, and leadership in all walks of life has made our country stronger and more prosperous. https://t.co/k2plUzE7bB
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) October 11, 2021
On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we pay respect to Tribal Nations and indigenous history. Today and every day, let us continue to celebrate and uplift the rich contributions of Indigenous peoples—their leadership has made our country stronger.
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) October 10, 2022
For generations, Indigenous people have protected their lands, languages, knowledge, and traditions.
On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we honor these many contributions and recommit to working alongside Indigenous people to ensure their communities thrive for generations to come.
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) October 9, 2023
On Monday, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is eyeing a run for mayor of the Big Apple, marked the holiday as “a day that honors and celebrates Italian-American heritage and the many contributions of Italian-Americans to our country.”
Leftists have long opposed Columbus Day, saying its celebration whitewashes the genocide of native tribes in North and Central America after the arrival of European explorers.
Long thought to have been a native of the Italian republic of Genoa, Columbus may have in fact been a Sephardic Jew from Spain who hid his background to avoid persecution by the Catholic authorites, a new study of the explorer’s DNA indicates.
The Post has reached out to the Harris campaign for comment.
