Trump camp calls out Harris over uncovered comments about renaming Columbus Day: 'stereotypical leftist'

The Trump campaign criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for allegedly wanting to “cancel American traditions,” pointing to her 2019 comments in which she supported efforts to rename Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples Day.

“Kamala Harris is your stereotypical leftist. She doesn’t just want it.” Increase taxes And deprive the police of resources – She also wants to cancel American traditions like Columbus Day,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital exclusively.

“President Trump will ensure that the great legacy of Christopher Columbus is honored and protect this holiday from radical leftists who, like Kamala Harris, want to erase our nation’s history.”

Leavitt referenced Harris' comments in 2019 when she spoke to voters in New Hampshire about a month after announcing her ultimately failed bid for the White House in 2020.

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Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a service at the Koinonia Christian Center in Greenville, North Carolina, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

“Count on my support,” Harris told a voter when asked if she supported renaming Columbus Day “Indigenous Peoples Day,” footage of the event shows.

In delivering her response to New Hampshire voters, Harris cited recent legislation she authored that made lynching a federal crime.

“People didn't want to face it and accept and, most importantly, admit that we are the scene of a crime when it comes to what we did with slavery, Jim Crow and institutionalized racism in this country, and we have to “Be honest.” She said, The Washington Times reported in 2019. “If we are not honest, we will not deal with the remnants of all this harm, and we will not course-correct, and we will not remain faithful.” our values ​​and morals.”

“While it concerns Native Americans, there is still much work to be done, and I appreciate and welcome your stand and efforts and count on my support,” she said, noting her support for renaming the holiday.

Columbus Day is a federal holiday that officially celebrates and recognizes the arrival of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492. The holiday will be celebrated on Monday this year.

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Portrait of Christopher Columbus, 1519. Found in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Artist: Piombo, Sebastiano, del (1485-1547). (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Activists have campaigned in recent years to distance Columbus Day from Columbus, claiming it celebrates colonialism and the genocide of indigenous peoples and instead advocates celebrating Native Americans. Activists have also worked to remove Columbus statues from cities, including toppling such statues during unrest in 2020.

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President Biden was the first president to officially recognize Indigenous Peoples Day in 2021, but states have taken different approaches to celebrating the day.

In 2021, Harris' first year as vice president, she said the U.S. “must not shy away from its “shameful past” in which European explorers ushered in “a wave of devastation for tribal nations.”

According to a recent New York Times/Siena College poll, former President Donald Trump has a significant lead among male voters over Vice President Kamala Harris. (AP/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

“Each October since 1934, the United States has honored the voyage of the European explorers who were the first to land on the shores of the Americas,” she said. “But that’s not the whole story. That was never the whole story.”

“These explorers unleashed a wave of devastation on tribal nations — committing violence, stealing land and spreading disease,” she said.

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Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the media before boarding Air Force Two after assessing recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene, Oct. 5, 2024, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

“We must not shy away from this shameful past, we must shine a light on it and do everything we can to address the impact of the past on Indigenous communities today.”

A review of Harris's X account for her vice presidency shows that she exclusively celebrated Indigenous Peoples Day over Columbus Day every year she was in office.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment on her previous statements and Leavitt's comment, but did not immediately receive a response.