Trump Proposes Renaming World War Anniversaries As ‘Victory Day’

US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday his intention to rename both May 8 and November 11 as “Victory Day” in his latest effort to change the country’s official terminology.

“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.

Victory Day, celebrated by the European Union on May 8 and in former Soviet countries on May 9, commemorates the anniversary of Germany’s unconditional surrender during World War II.

The war in Asia persisted until Japan’s surrender in early September 1945, following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

While some in the United States observe the occasion, May 8 is not a public holiday and is not celebrated as extensively as it is in Europe.

“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,” Trump’s post said.

November 11 was initially named “Armistice Day” by former US President Woodrow Wilson to commemorate the 1918 armistice that ended World War I. It is now observed as “Veterans Day,” a public holiday in the United States to honor Americans who have served in the 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, with Russia as its largest republic, was an ally of Britain and the United States against Nazi Germany. The USSR endured the highest number of casualties, with more than 20 million killed.

No official executive order or proclamation regarding the renaming of holidays has been issued by the White House yet.

In his second term, Trump has made several attempts to rename elements of U.S. public life, including trying to revert “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” back to “Columbus Day” and proposing to rename the “Gulf of Mexico” as the “Gulf of America.”