Victory Day is already observed by the European Union on the same date and in former Soviet countries on May 9.
“Today, our Nation proudly commemorates the 80th anniversary of the Allied Powers’ triumph over national socialism and fascism, and the end of World War II in Europe — one of the most epic victories for forces of freedom in the history of the world. On this Victory Day for World War II, we celebrate the unmatched might, strength, and power of the American Armed Forces, and we commit to protecting our sacred birthright of liberty against all threats, foreign and domestic,” Trump said in his proclamation.He added that the day honours the sacrifices of millions of people who lost their lives during the war and acknowledged the bravery of soldiers who fought for freedom.
“After nearly 4 years of the darkest and bloodiest chapters ever recorded in human history, more than 250,000 Americans lost their lives in the fight against the Nazi regime. Today and every day, we pay tribute to all those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their Nation, their liberty, and the survival of Western civilisation. Without the sacrifice of our American soldiers, this war would not have been won, and our world today would look drastically different,” he added.
“May 8, 1945, marks the Allies’ acceptance of Germany’s unconditional surrender — the beginning of the end of years of long, gruesome, and brutal warfare.”
He added that it is an opportunity to offer unending thanks to every patriot from the Greatest Generation who fought for freedom. “We honour the memories of all those who perished. Above all, we renew our commitment to keeping America and the entire world safe, secure, prosperous, and free,” he added.Trump reaffirmed his dedication to his core mission as President, which is to promote global peace. “I remain steadfastly devoted to stopping the years of endless foreign wars and preventing the further loss of lives. As I stated during my Inaugural Address, we will measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the wars we end — and my proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker,” he added.
He said that all of the US World War 2 allies were celebrating Victory Day, “but the United States has never joined in with the proper celebration of our own, and the victory was mostly accomplished because of us.”
“Whether you like it or not, we came into that war and we won that war and we had a lot of help from a lot of great people and a lot of great allies. But I think there would be nobody who would say that we were not the dominant force in that war, and we don’t celebrate it,” Trump said.
He also stated that all US citizens should be proud of what patriots have helped them achieve.
“In the future, we’re going to have a major celebration of each day. We’re not going to have days off because we don’t have enough days in the year! We have too many celebrations already.
“But we’re going to have Victory Day, and for World War I, World War II. And without us, those wars would not have been won. I think we can say that we would not have won,” he said.
Earlier, in another post, he expressed his intention to rename two US holidays to “Victory Day”.
“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 Truth Social.
