Donald Trump is being torn apart online after declaring May 8 as “Victory Day” for World War II—while completely ignoring the fact that the war didn’t actually end then.
In a late-night Truth Social post, the former president wrote, “I am hereby renaming May 8th as Victory Day for World War II and November 11th as Victory Day for World War I.” He added, “Many of our allies and friends are celebrating May 8th as Victory Day, but we did more than any other Country, by far, in producing a victorious result in World War II.”
But history says otherwise.
May 8, 1945, marks the surrender of Nazi Germany—the end of the war in Europe. The U.S. and its allies were still fighting Japan in the Pacific for another three brutal months. The real end of WWII came on August 15, 1945, when Japan finally surrendered after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet invasion of Japanese-occupied China.
“We won World War II on August 15, 1945, when the Japanese surrendered,” journalist Keith Olbermann wrote on X. “Trump is a complete moron.”
Critics also blasted Trump for wanting to ditch Veterans Day. He proposed replacing it with a celebration of the end of World War I, even though Veterans Day has honored all U.S. veterans since Congress changed its name from Armistice Day in 1954.
Trump wrote, “We won both Wars, nobody was close to us in terms of strength, bravery, or military brilliance, but we never celebrate anything. That’s because we don’t have leaders anymore that know how to do so! We are going to start celebrating our victories again!”
Historians and veterans’ groups say Trump’s proposal would erase the real meaning of Veterans Day, which was created to recognize the sacrifice and service of every U.S. military veteran—not just the end of WWI.
Changing the holiday isn’t even up to him. Only Congress can do that. And they’ve already tried messing with Veterans Day once—in 1971—and it backfired. The public outrage was so strong that they changed it back to November 11 just seven years later.
Trump’s comments are also likely to anger allies who made huge sacrifices during the war. Russia alone lost 28 million people—soldiers and civilians. The U.K. lost over 43,000 civilians to Nazi bombing campaigns. And still, Trump claimed America did “more than any other Country, by far.”
Despite never serving in the military himself—Trump dodged the Vietnam draft with a bone spur diagnosis from a doctor who reportedly did it as a favor to Trump’s landlord, Fred Trump—he’s now pushing for a massive military parade on June 14 to mark the Army’s 250th anniversary. Coincidentally, that’s also his birthday.
We won World War II on August 15, 1945 when the Japanese surrendered.
Trump is a complete moron. pic.twitter.com/teHhJ1u3Rh
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) May 2, 2025
