Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) countered the left’s push to erase rather than celebrate explorer Christopher Columbus with an official declaration promoting Columbus Day in Florida on Monday.

DeSantis signed the declaration as left-wing politicians and others continue to vilify Columbus using present-day standards and rename the day “Indigenous Peoples’ Day.”

The governor’s declaration read in part:

“Columbus Day commemorates the life and legacy of the Italian explorer, Christopher Columbus, who made Europeans conscious of the existence of the New World and whose travels opened the door for the development of European settlements in the Western Hemisphere, which would ultimately lead to the establishment of the United States of America.”

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How America Has Commemorated Columbus

DeSantis also talked about how Columbus Day was first recognized as a national holiday by President Benjamin Harrison in 1892.

He added that up “until very recently,” it was a holiday that was a “unifying day for all Americans.” 

The Florida governor also said that the day had “turned political.” 

The signed declaration also stated,

“Columbus stands a singular figure in Western Civilization who exemplified courage, risk-taking, and heroism in the face of enormous odds; as a visionary who saw the possibilities of exploration beyond Europe; and as a founding father who laid the foundation for what would one day become the United States of America, which would commemorate Columbus by naming its federal district after him.”

DeSantis made a point to mention the pride that roughly 17 million Italian-Americans have for Christopher Columbus.

In fact, his declaration recognized the contributions of Italian-Americans to American culture, “…a community whose warmth, generosity, patriotism, and love of family have made those characteristics even greater components of the broader American culture and way of life.”

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The Left Trashes Columbus

As progressives and the left actively work to demonize long-held American traditions and points of pride, Columbus Day finds itself squarely in their crosshairs.

On Monday, Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) tweeted out that, “Today should just be #IndigenousPeopleDay.” 

But that statement wasn’t taking it far enough for the Democrat.

Velázquez’s tweet continued, “And yet this day is still shared with a genocidal maniac. We need to take this time to reflect on the brutal history of violence against Indigenous peoples in America and recognize that there is still a lot of work to repair this harm.”

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) shared similar sentiments and voiced them on Twitter:

“Millions of indigenous people lost their lives during the genocide committed against them in the Americas. Today we pause in solemn recognition of this human tragedy. And recommit to uplift the original occupants of this land.”

Not to be outdone by the two Democrats from New York, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) also tweeted out:

“On #IndigenousPeoplesDay, I hope folks use this time to reflect and learn from our history. Indigenous people were here long before America’s ‘discovery,’ and they are essential to our future.”

As usual, anyone with a public platform wanted to get in their shots at Columbus, too.

NBA San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich cited “the painful history of wrongs and atrocities that many European explorers inflicted on Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities” while slamming a San Antonio, TX school district for holding a school holiday.

What’s more ridiculous and insulting, however, is Popovich’s statement that Italian-Americans honoring Columbus is like, “We should be proud of Hitler because we are German.”

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Joe Biden Celebrates Indigenous Peoples’ Day

On Friday, President Joe Biden became the first president to issue a proclamation of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

He also made a proclamation marking Columbus Day, but made a point to mention the “devastation” and “violence” that European explorers like Columbus brought to the new world.

While Columbus Day is a federal holiday, 10 states and as many as 130 cities across the nation have begun celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day.

Several Republicans tweeted out their support for Columbus Day.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) simply said, “Columbus Day.”

While Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-PA) tweeted, “Today, we celebrate Christopher Columbus arriving in the Americas and the dawn of Western Civilization in the New World. #ColumbusDay.”

The official Twitter account for the House Republicans was also short and to the point, “It’s called Columbus Day. Pass it on.”

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