President Donald Trump honored Christopher Columbus on Oct. 9, touting the Italian explorer’s legacy and criticizing those who want to destroy his statues.
The White House celebration of Columbus comes ahead of Columbus Day, which is Oct. 12. It is a federal holiday in the United States and honors both Columbus and Italian Americans.
In his speech, Trump said Columbus “undertook one of the boldest voyages in the history of our planet” when he set sail in 1492 westward with the goal of reaching Asia but instead landed in the New World.
The president noted that Columbus’s crew begged him to turn back to Spain, but Columbus pressed on….