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By Jesus Mesa and Gabe Whisnant
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President Donald Trump’s 2025 Thanksgiving proclamation called for national unity, gratitude to God and reflection on American history, a formal message that differed in tone from the politically charged holiday post he shared in 2024.
“As we prepare to celebrate 250 glorious years of American independence, this Thanksgiving, we summon the faith, resolve, and unflinching fortitude of the giants of American history who came before us,” Trump wrote in the proclamation dated November 25 but released by the White House on Thursday. “Above all, we offer our endless gratitude to Almighty God for His love, grace, and infinite blessings."
Why It Matters
Thanksgiving proclamations are an enduring presidential tradition dating to 1789, when George Washington, America's first president, designated a national day for public thanksgiving and prayer. The practice was made an annual observance by Abraham Lincoln in 1863, amid the Civil War, as he called on Americans to unite and give thanks. Nearly every U.S. president since has issued a Thanksgiving proclamation each year.
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What To Know
The proclamation cast Thanksgiving as a time to recognize recent national gains and to prepare for the future. Trump cited “strong leadership and commonsense policy” as driving forces behind what he called “a new era of peace” and “the American spirit … coming back greater and more powerful than ever before.”
He tied these developments to divine favor, writing, “God has bestowed abundant blessings all across our land and indeed the entire world.” The message urged Americans to see their current moment as a continuation of a long national story rooted in determination and belief. “We vow to build a future that echoes their sacrifice,” Trump said, referring to historical figures he credited with shaping the nation’s character.
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Thanksgiving, he wrote, should be a day for Americans to “gather, in homes and places of worship, to offer a prayer of thanks to God for our many blessings.”
The tone of the 2025 Thanksgiving proclamation marked a departure from Trump’s fiery message the previous year. In his 2024 post on Truth Social, Trump addressed his political opponents directly and framed the holiday in terms of electoral victory. “Happy Thanksgiving to all,” he wrote, “including to the Radical Left Lunatics who have worked so hard to destroy our Country, but who have miserably failed.”
That post, shared just weeks after the 2024 election, continued: “The great people of our Nation just gave a landslide victory to those who want to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Don’t worry, our Country will soon be respected, productive, fair, and strong.”
What People Are Saying
First lady Melania Trump, on Thursday: “This month and every month, America remains grateful for your service, your sacrifice and your spirit. As we give thanks this season, let us remember what unites us—our shared love of country, our faith in one another and our pride in those who serve. Happy Thanksgiving.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on X Thursday: “It is a privilege to live in the greatest nation on Earth under a leader who puts God and country first. I am thankful for President Trump and the work he is doing to usher in peace and prosperity. May God continue to bless him and the American people.”
What Happens Next
The president will spend the holiday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where he is expected to remain through the weekend.
Trump’s Thanksgiving Proclamation, in Full
"BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
In 1789, just years after America’s triumph over tyranny in the Revolutionary War, President George Washington established the first National Day of Thanksgiving, declaring “the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.” Decades later, in the midst of the bloody Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln implored the Nation to join in unity for “a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.” In every generation since, this spirit of reverence, trust, and gratitude has preserved our way of life and made America the strongest, greatest, and most resilient Nation the world has ever known.
From the pilgrims who settled our continent and the patriots who won our independence on the battlefield to the pioneers who tamed the west and the warriors who have preserved our freedom in distant lands, the spirit of gratitude and grit embodied by those who celebrated the first Thanksgiving more than 400 years ago have stood at the very heart of what it means to be an American.
This year, God has bestowed abundant blessings all across our land and indeed the entire world. As we give thanks to Him, we continue to advance our Nation through strong leadership and commonsense policy. As a result, the American economy is roaring back, we are making progress on lowering the cost of living, a new era of peace is sweeping around the world, our sovereignty is being swiftly restored, and the American spirit is coming back greater and more powerful than ever before.
As we prepare to celebrate 250 glorious years of American independence, this Thanksgiving, we summon the faith, resolve, and unflinching fortitude of the giants of American history who came before us. We vow to build a future that echoes their sacrifice. Above all, we offer our endless gratitude to Almighty God for His love, grace, and infinite blessings.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 27, 2025, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all Americans to gather, in homes and places of worship, to offer a prayer of thanks to God for our many blessings.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fiftieth."
Update 11/27/25, 1:06 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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