US President Donald Trump announced plans on Thursday to rename both May 8 and November 11 as “Victory Day,” aiming to reshape national observances in recognition of American military successes in the world wars.
“I am hereby renaming May 8th as Victory Day for World War II and November 11th as Victory Day for World War I,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Traditionally, May 8 is marked as Victory Day in Europe, commemorating Germany’s surrender in World War II.
While widely observed in Europe and former Soviet countries, it is not a US public holiday.
Trump emphasized America’s role in the Allied triumph, stating, “Many of our allies and friends are celebrating May 8th as Victory Day, but we did more than any other Country, by far, in producing a victorious result on World War II.”
November 11, now known as Veterans Day in the US, was originally called “Armistice Day” by President Woodrow Wilson to mark the end of World War I in 1918.
It is now a public holiday celebrated in the United States as “Veterans Day” and meant to honor Americans who have served in the US armed forces.
“We won both Wars, nobody was close to us in terms of strength, bravery, or military brilliance, but we never celebrate anything — That’s because we don’t have leaders anymore, that know how to do so!” Trump continued. “We are going to start celebrating our victories again!”
During World War II the Soviet Union, in which Russia was the largest of 15 republics, was allied with Britain and the United States against Nazi Germany.
The USSR suffered the greatest number of casualties in the war, with more than 20 million killed.
No executive order or proclamation enumerating the holiday name changes has been formally issued yet by the White House.
Trump in his second term has repeatedly sought to rename parts of US public life, whether it be a national holiday — such as changing “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” back to “Columbus Day” — or a geographical feature, like renaming the “Gulf of Mexico” as the “Gulf of America.”
What you should know
President Trump’s proposal to rename two major historical dates as “Victory Day” highlights his focus on restoring patriotic celebrations. However, no formal order has yet been issued to make the changes official.
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