Trump wants to rename Veterans Day to ‘Victory Day for World War I’
FILE-President Donald Trump takes a question from a reporter in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on March 3, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump wants to change the name of Veterans Day to celebrate military victories.
Trump wants to not only rename Veterans Day, but he also wants to designate May 8, referred to as Victory in Europe Day, as "Victory in World War II Day."
However, he didn’t specify if he wanted May 8 to become a federal holiday, like Veterans Day. Trump has not signed an executive order to rename Veterans Day yet.
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Trump in a post on his Truth Social platform addressed proposed renaming writing "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. I am hereby renaming May 8th as Victory Day for World War II and November 11th as Victory Day for World War I. 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! We are going to start celebrating our victories again!"
Can Trump change the name of Veterans Day?
Dig deeper:
A president does not have the power to change the names of federal holidays because all of them have been created by acts of Congress.
Congress is the only entity that can create, end, or rename a federal holiday. According to the Washington Post, the president can offer an opinion or make suggestions, but any change to a federal holiday requires Congressional legislative action.
What is Veterans Day?
Why you should care:
Veterans Day is a federal holiday commemorated annually on Nov. 11. This day marks the date when fighting stopped in World War I, and it honors American veterans for their willingness to serve, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs website.
What is Victory Day?
The backstory:
According to the Department of Defense, Victory Day is not recognized in the U.S. and marks victory in Europe Day, when Germany relinquished its military forces to the Allies like the U.S. in World War II.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by Politico, a Truth Social post from Donald Trump, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, the Washington Post, and CNN. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.