Eighty years after the end of the deadliest war in human history, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that it’s long past time for the United States to celebrate its victory in World War II.
Trump signed a proclamation in the Oval Office, officially recognizing May 8 as “Victory Day for World War II.” The president said that he wants the United States to join Europe, which recognizes “Victory in Europe Day” on May 8, in celebrating the end of the war.
“All over the globe, our World War II allies are celebrating this week, but the United States has never joined in with the proper celebration of our own,” Trump said. “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 people, a lot of great allies, but I think there would be nobody that would say we were not the dominant force in that war.”
Trump first hinted at the announcement in a Truth Social post last week, saying he would be “renaming May 8th as Victory Day for World War II and November 11th as Victory Day for World War I.” The White House later clarified that Trump would not be renaming Veterans Day, but that “Victory Day for World War I” would simply be “an additional proclamation that goes out on that day.”
“We are going to start celebrating our victories again!” Trump added.
.@POTUS announces that he just signed a proclamation officially declaring tomorrow, May 8, as "Victory Day for World War II." pic.twitter.com/Z3aFZhr5sl
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 7, 2025
On May 7, 1945, Nazi Germany signed an unconditional surrender at General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s headquarters at Reims, a French city close to the German border. The surrender officially went into effect on May 8, marking the end of the conflict in Europe. The war would continue for the United States until Japan surrendered on September 2, following the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Europe has celebrated VE Day on May 8 since the end of the war, while Russia has observed the day on May 9, the date when the Nazi’s surrender took effect in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Tuesday that Russia will observe a three-day ceasefire in its war against Ukraine to celebrate the Soviet Union’s victory over the Nazis.
Trump said that it’s “a great disservice to the people that lost their lives” for the United States not to celebrate its World War II victory.
“It was American tanks and ships and trucks and airplanes and service members that vanquished the enemy 80 years ago this week,” Trump said. “Without America, the liberation would never have happened, and so we have to pay tribute and homage to those people that gave us victory.”
