In true Trumpian fashion, the president has tossed a live grenade into the history books—this time by proposing new national holidays to mark what he calls America’s solo victories in World War I and World War II.
Yes, you read that right.
On Monday, Trump took to Truth Social to declare that the United States “won two World Wars” and never got the credit it deserved. He claimed that, without America, “the War would have been won by other Countries”—implying the results might not have looked quite so rosy. Now, he wants to correct that oversight by making November 11 (Armistice Day) and May 8 (Victory in Europe Day) official national holidays to “start celebrating our victories again.”
While the idea has rallied some of his base, it didn’t go over so well internationally.
Former Russian president and current Security Council deputy chairman Dmitry Medvedev didn’t mince words, dismissing Trump’s take as “pretentious nonsense.” He pointed to the Soviet Union’s staggering loss of 27 million lives and insisted that the Red Army’s capture of Berlin—not just American firepower—crushed the Nazi war machine.
Even British military voices chimed in. General Lord Dannatt, ex-head of the UK General Staff, slammed Trump’s revisionism, calling his version of events “extraordinary” and dangerously misleading.
It’s true that the U.S. played a massive role in WWII, especially in the Pacific and later in Europe. But it didn’t do it alone. The Soviets bled out Hitler’s Eastern front while the British, Canadians, Australians, and countless others did their part across the globe. In fact, Nazi Germany officially surrendered after midnight Moscow time on May 9, a date Russia now marks as Victory Day.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged the crucial support the U.S. provided—especially through the Lend-Lease program, which armed the Soviet Union with tanks, aircraft, ammo, and supplies worth over $200 billion in today’s money. But he was clear: the USSR could’ve still won without it—just at a far greater cost.
That said, Lend-Lease wasn’t a gift. Moscow paid back the last of that wartime debt in 2006.
Trump’s campaign to “reclaim” America’s victories is vintage him: bold, polarizing, and loud enough to stir up headlines around the world. But while he’s trying to honor fallen heroes, he’s also stepping on international toes and reviving age-old debates about who really beat Hitler.
Whether these holidays take root or wither in Congress remains to be seen. One thing’s for sure—Trump knows how to light a match in a powder keg of global memory.
