President Donald Trump used a Columbus Day event at the White House on Friday to promise he would defend the legacy of Christopher Columbus and other founding-era figures from what he called the radical left, while taking aim at Michigan Democrat Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
Speaking in the East Room, Trump accused El-Sayed of wanting to abolish Columbus Day.
“As you know, the radical left communists hate Columbus, and they want to abolish Columbus Day. They’re still trying very hard,” Trump said.
Trump also referred to El-Sayed by a different name during the remarks.
“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?” Trump said.
The president then promised to shield Columbus’s legacy for the remainder of his term.
“But I’ll tell you what, we’re going to be here almost two and a half years… He’s going to be so protected, like nobody’s ever been protected before, because they want to tear down the history and heritage that makes us who we are,” Trump said.
Lincoln, Washington and Jefferson
Trump went on to list other historical figures whose statues or public recognition have been targeted in recent years, pledging to protect them as well.
“Not only Columbus. I mean, we had a time when they wanted to rip down the statue of Abraham Lincoln. That was about the end… Now we’ve hit pay dirt, you know… because they thought he was a racist. But he’s the one that freed the country,” Trump said.
He pointed to schools that had removed George Washington’s name.
“George Washington: they’ve taken the name of George Washington off schools, many schools…But these are different days now. Now we don’t do that anymore,” Trump said.
He added Thomas Jefferson to the list of figures he intends to defend.
“So we protect Lincoln, we protect Washington, we protect Thomas Jefferson. They wanted to rip down Thomas Jefferson’s memorial,” Trump said.
Trump noted that during his first term he invoked a law imposing stiffer penalties for toppling statues.
