Trump Totally Ignored Indigenous People in His Columbus Day Proclamation. Again.

Today is the second Columbus/Indigenous People’s Day since Donald Trump took office, and for the second year in a row, Trump has issued an official presidential proclamation for the holiday that fails to even mention the existence of Native Americans.

This morning, Trump tweeted out a link to the proclamation along with the message, “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.”

This doesn’t have to be the slightest bit surprising (because it’s not) to be totally disappointing and infuriating.

By contrast, in his 2016 proclamation, President Obama made specific mention of the history of violence and tragedy that Trump ignored.

“As we mark this rich history, we must also acknowledge the pain and suffering reflected in the stories of Native Americans who had long resided on this land prior to the arrival of European newcomers,” he wrote. “The past we share is marked by too many broken promises, as well as violence, deprivation, and disease. It is a history that we must recognize as we seek to build a brighter future — side by side and with cooperation and mutual respect. We have made great progress together in recent years, and we will keep striving to maintain strong nation-to-nation relationships, strengthen tribal sovereignty, and help all our communities thrive.”

Oh, and Obama also acknowledged that Columbus’ “discovery” of the Bahamas was a mistake, something Trump would never do because his favorite defense is claiming “I meant to do that all along” and then blaming the media for blowing the thing out of proportion. Amazing how little has changed in 400 years.

Anyway, here’s Trump boarding Air Force One with toilet paper or something stuck to his shoe, which he definitely meant to do.

(image: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

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Vivian Kane

Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.

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