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Trump Hosts a Columbus Day Celebration

October 9, 2026 · The White House · 1:02:44

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

President Donald Trump hosted a Columbus Day celebration at the White House on October 9, 2026, in an event carried in full on the White House channel. Tenor Christopher Macchio sang the national anthem to open the program.

The President praised Macchio’s singing, recalled Luciano Pavarotti as a friend, and — in the spirit of the Italian-American celebration — arranged for Macchio to also perform “Ave Maria” and “Nessun dorma” to close the event. The celebration marked Columbus Day with the Italian-American community at the White House.

Why it matters

Columbus Day is one of the calendar’s contested civic observances, and a full White House celebration is the administration stating its position in ceremonial form: the holiday kept, and kept prominently. Ceremonial pages like this one are part of the chronicle’s record of how this administration uses the White House itself — who is honored there, and which traditions it chooses to elevate.

Sources: The White House, “President Trump Hosts a Columbus Day Celebration,” October 9, 2026 (official upload, embedded above).