Politics
50 years after the fall of Saigon, Vietnam tweaks the story of its victory
HO CHI MINH CITY — Military officers stoop to inspect slim green cannons along the Saigon River. Construction equipment whines as workers erect towering bleachers in a downtown park. Fighter jets and helicopters roar above the city in practice drills.
For weeks, Vietnam has been preparing this city for the anniversary of a defining moment in the nation’s history: On April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese forces stormed the Presidential Palace in Saigon, the governing seat of the Republic of Vietnam, just days after U.S. troops had withdrawn. The victory of the communist regime over the U.S. allied armies in the south in effect ended a costly, three-decade conflict and unified the country.
Fifty years later, Vietnam is celebrating April 30 like never before. But amid the fanfare of parades, fireworks and airshows, a long-standing debate over what to call the holiday continues, a subtle acknowledgment of the lingering scars of a contentious war.
Victorious North Vietnamese troops take up positions outside Independence Palace in Saigon on April 30, 1975.
(Yves Billy / Associated Press)
The official designation is “The Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day,” but it’s known by many other names. Vietnamese who are aligned with the ruling communist party here often refer to it as Liberation Day or Victory Day, while those who resettled in the U.S. still use terms such as Black April or National Day of Resentment. Many Vietnamese in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City — as Saigon is known today — say they simply refer to it as April 30.
In the run-up to the 50th anniversary under General Secretary To Lam, who assumed party leadership in August, academics say that state media and government have embraced the shorthand “Reunification Day.”
“It has been a divisive issue for Vietnamese within Vietnam, and also between the government of Vietnam and the diaspora,” said Tuong Vu, a professor of political science at the University of Oregon and founding director of its U.S.-Vietnam Research Center. “But this year, they have talked a bit more about national reconciliation and unification.”
Throughout history, different names have often been given to the same wars and holidays, depending on who is framing the conflict. Here the Vietnam War is referred to as the American War, or the Resistance War Against America.
The Hien Luong Bridge, located within the Demilitarized Zone in Quang Tri province, is a symbol of the Vietnam War.
(Magdalena Chodownik / Getty Images)
The American Civil War was sometimes referred in the South as the War Between the States, and, later, the War of Northern Aggression. The 1973 Arab-Israeli War is also known as the Yom Kippur War and the October War, among other names.
Academics suggest that, for Vietnam, using the more neutral name of Reunification Day could help bridge a gap with the generations of Vietnamese who grew up abroad.
“It does show an effort to reach out to the other side, and that’s what many people have been advising the government,” Vu said. “If you want to take advantage of the strength of the diaspora, then you have to tone down your rhetoric.”
In February, secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen said the holiday should be considered a day of peace.
“It must be affirmed that it was a war of national defense, not about winning or losing. On the day peace came, there were mixed emotions — some felt joy; others sorrow. But after 50 years, personal sorrow needs to merge with the joy of the nation,” he said, according to Vietnamese media.
Vietnam’s determination to navigate a changing geopolitical landscape — with a flexible approach known as “bamboo diplomacy” — has also influenced the language its leaders use to describe the past.
For example, Vu said official statements now have fewer references to a “puppet government” in what was formerly South Vietnam, a term used to delegitimize its former adversary and denounce America’s involvement in the war. He added this shift was probably made in the hope of improving cooperation with the U.S. and to strengthen Vietnam’s territorial claims to several islands in the South China Sea.
The country has benefited from maintaining strong bilateral ties to both China and the U.S., its two largest trading partners, even as the rivalry between the two superpowers has intensified.
A gardener waters flowers outside the newly rebuilt Kien Trung Palace within the Imperial City of Hue.
(David Rising / Associated Press)
“They just kind of worked to build relationships with everybody and become a bigger player because of their economic development,” said Scot Marciel, a former ambassador based in Vietnam when it resumed diplomatic relations with the U.S. in 1995. “The business community has tended to view Vietnam as really a rising star in the region. It’s been a very steady, very pragmatic approach.”
The Trump administration may be taking action that could dim that star. Earlier this month, President Trump proposed a 46% tariff on U.S. imports from Vietnam, which could stall the country’s manufacturing and economic growth. Various news outlets have reported that Trump has also told senior diplomats in Vietnam not to attend the April 30 festivities.
Vietnam also invited military personnel from China, Cambodia and Laos to participate in its holiday parade.
“Vietnam prioritizes its relationship with regional and ideological allies as much as this strategic partnership with the U.S.,” said An Nguyen, a historian and lecturer at the University of Maine. “Maintaining that balance, I think, is becoming much harder in today’s context.
Hai Nguyen Hong, a senior lecturer of politics and international relations at Vin University in Hanoi, said he’s noticed the use of terms such as Liberation Day and Anti-American War has decreased over the past three-plus years. That shift, he said, can go a long way in changing perceptions in Vietnam and promoting national harmony.
“The day itself is a historical day. You can’t change it,” Hong said. “What you can change, and what you can see and observe change, is the mood and the attitude of the Vietnamese people.”
Vietnamese media and online discourse are tightly controlled, and there are no national surveys that include uncensored opinions about the government. But ahead of the high-profile commemoration on Wednesday, reactions to the celebration on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City ranged from enthusiasm to ambivalence.
Tran Thi Loan Anh, 27, and Phan Minh Quan, 26, in Ho Chi Minh City, said they will camp out in the early morning of the parade on Wednesday to get a good view of the 50th anniversary celebration.
(Stephanie Yang / Los Angeles Times)
Tran Thi Loan Anh, a 27-year-old tax advisor, said that she and her friends plan to camp out downtown at 3 a.m. the day of the parade, in order to secure a front-row view.
“I’ve been impressed by how the government has organized events that foster patriotism and national pride,” she said. “I’m especially struck by how music is used — traditional songs about the nation performed in such powerful, stirring ways.”
Pham Phu Quy, a driver and deliveryman, was a teenager in Saigon in 1975, with a father who worked for the South Vietnamese government, and a mother who worked for the northern army. Today, the 69-year-old said, Vietnam provides a freedom that differs from his childhood experiences. During the war, soldiers and checkpoints kept him from traveling. Now he rides his motorbike all around the country, taking selfies and photos along the way.
“I don’t know what the future holds, but this is a good enough life for me. Of course, debates between the two sides still continue to this day,” he said. “I just feel that if the country hadn’t been reunified — if the war had continued — everything would still be incredibly difficult.”
Pham Thao Anh, 75, is used to spending the national holiday in the capital of Hanoi where she grew up. But this year, she plans to fly to Ho Chi Minh City to celebrate.
“I remember that some of the soldiers that drove the tank into the Independence Palace that day were from my hometown,” the retired hospital worker said. “So this day has very special meaning to me.”
Le Anh Dung, 23, right, grew up hearing stories about the war from his grandfather and says he watches the April 30 celebration on television every year. His grandfather, Nguyen Van Them, 73, will travel to Ho Chi Minh City with other retired military officials to attend the 50th anniversary commemoration this year.
(Stephanie Yang / Los Angeles Times)
Nguyen Thuy Vy, a 32-year-old translator, said her generation generally has less attachment to the April 30 anniversary than other holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Christmas or Lunar New Year. “Young people I think nowadays are busy with work, and they don’t care about this traditional holiday,” she said.
But Le Anh Dung, a 23-year-old graphic designer in Hanoi, grew up hearing stories about the war from his grandfather, a former military officer who was working in North Vietnam’s artillery unit the day Saigon fell. Reading about the wars in Ukraine and Gaza have made him more appreciative of peace at home, he said, adding, “I feel so lucky that I don’t have to endure the smell of gunpowder or crawl into a bunker once in a while, like previous generations did.”
His grandfather, Nguyen Van Them, 73, said watching the celebrations on television helped his grandchildren understand what previous generations sacrificed for them. He believes that tweaking the holiday’s name makes it more meaningful.
“‘Liberation of the South’ is not quite right, because it only mentions one half. But the other half also looks forward to the country’s liberation, unity, harmony and oneness,” Nguyen said.
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President Donald Trump is taking his feud with Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to the libertarian lawmaker’s home turf on Wednesday.
Trump is expected to hold an event in Hebron, Kentucky, on Wednesday, the Republican Party of Kentucky announced on social media Monday. It’s located in the northern part of the state’s 4th Congressional District, which Massie represents.
Massie’s primary rival, Ed Gallrein, will attend the Hebron event, his campaign confirmed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, while deferring all other questions on the matter to the White House.
Massie himself will miss the event due to a previously scheduled official engagement, his spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
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President Donald Trump will be visiting Rep. Thomas Massie’s congressional district on Wednesday. (Win McNamee/Getty Images; Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
When asked about the visit, White House spokeswoman Liz Huston told Fox News Digital, “President Trump will visit the great states of Ohio and Kentucky on Wednesday to tout his economic victories and detail his Administration’s aggressive, ongoing efforts to lower prices and make America more affordable.”
The president has thrown his considerable influence behind Gallrein to unseat Massie after the GOP lawmaker publicly defied Trump on multiple occasions.
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Massie most recently was one of two House Republicans to vote to stop Trump’s joint operation in Iran with Israel, though the legislation was successfully blocked by the majority of GOP lawmakers and a handful of Democrats.
Ed Gallrein, left, seen with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House. (Ed Gallrein congressional campaign)
He was also one of two Republicans to vote against Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” last year.
Trump in turn has hurled a slew of personal attacks against Massie, including calling him “weak and pathetic” in a statement endorsing Gallrein in October.
“He only votes against the Republican Party, making life very easy for the Radical Left. Unlike ‘lightweight’ Massie, a totally ineffective LOSER who has failed us so badly, CAPTAIN ED GALLREIN IS A WINNER WHO WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN,” Trump posted on Truth Social at the time, one of numerous criticisms targeting the Kentucky Republican through the years.
He called Massie the “worst Republican congressman” in July amid Massie’s bipartisan push to force the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release its files on Jeffrey Epstein.
Then-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, and Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But Massie has so far appeared to defy political gravity despite making political enemies out of both Trump and House GOP leaders.
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He handily defeated multiple primary challengers in 2024 and 2022, despite public feuds with Trump, and has served his district since 2012.
Gallrein is a retired Navy SEAL and farmer who launched his campaign days after Trump made his endorsement. Their primary election day is May 19.
As anxiety mounts among California Democrats about the potential of a Republican being elected governor, the state party will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on polling to assess the viability of the sprawling field of candidates hoping to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to plans released Tuesday.
The move comes after nearly every Democratic candidate refused party leaders’ call last week to withdraw from the race to avoid splitting the vote in the June primary — an outcome that could lead to a Republican being elected to statewide office for the first time in two decades.
“Candidates have filed, and now they’ve got the opportunity to showcase their viability, their path to win. I want to simply ensure that everybody has information to fully understand the current state of the race,” said Rusty Hicks, the leader of the California Democratic Party.
As campaign season ramps up, the series of six polls will allow “candidates, supporters, the media, voters, anyone and everyone to have a clear understanding of what is or is not happening in this particular race,” he said.
The filing deadline to appear on the June 2 ballot was Friday. Three days earlier, Hicks released an open letter urging candidates who did not have a path to victory to withdraw from the race. Of the nine prominent Democrats who had announced runs for governor, only one heeded his call: former state Assembly Majority Leader Ian Calderon.
That means the eight other candidates’ names will appear on the ballot, regardless of whether they decide to later drop out. And that creates the possibility of a Republican winning the race because of how California elections are decided.
The state has a voter-approved top-two primary system, under which the two candidates who receive the most votes in the June primary advance to the November general election, regardless of party.
Two prominent Republicans will appear on the ballot: former conservative commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. Even though Democratic voters outnumber Republicans nearly 2 to 1, and the state’s electorate last elevated Republicans to statewide office in 2006, it is mathematically possible for Democrats to splinter the vote, allowing the two GOP candidates to advance.
Under such a scenario, not only would Republicans be guaranteed the leadership of the nation’s most-populous state, but Democratic voter turnout also would probably be depressed in November, potentially affecting down-ballot races such as those that could determine control of Congress.
Hicks’ call last week prompted concerns among candidates of color, including former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and state Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, that the effort was aimed at every nonwhite candidate in the race.
The state party chairman responded that his letter was not aimed at any specific candidate.
“It’s not something I lose sleep over,” Hicks said when asked about the racial claims. But he added that the voter surveys will be conducted by Los Angeles-based Evitarus, the state’s only Black- and Latino-led full-service polling firm, and will oversample historically underrepresented communities: Latino, Black and Asian American voters.
Hicks said the polling will cost “multiple six figures” but did not specify the exact amount.
The first poll will be released on March 24, and then five additional surveys will come out every seven to 10 days until voters start receiving mail ballots in early May.
“We’re putting this forward to ensure everyone is armed with the information they need to clearly have an eyes-wide-open assessment of where the state of the race currently is between now and when ballots land in the mailboxes of voters,” Hicks said.
Politics
Trump reveals top issues GOP should focus on to secure midterms victory: ‘I’ve never been more confident’
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President Donald Trump outlined five key items he believes will tip the upcoming midterm elections in the GOP’s favor — if Republicans can muscle them through Congress.
“No transgender mutilation surgery for our children,” Trump told an audience at the Republican Members’ Issues Conference. “Voter ID, citizenship [verification], mail-in ballots, we don’t want men playing in women’s sports.”
“It’s the best of Trump. Those are the best of Trump. This is the number one priority, it should be, for the House,” Trump said.
Trump’s exhortations to Republican lawmakers come as the GOP wages an uphill campaign to hang on to a controlling majority in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. He framed his legislative priorities as a way for Republicans to capitalize on popular demands within the GOP base that would increase their chances of preserving a Republican governing trifecta.
President Donald Trump gestures as he boards Air Force One before departing Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on March 1, 2026. (Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images)
HOUSE REPUBLICANS PUSH ELECTION OVERHAUL WITH VOTER ID, MAIL-IN BALLOT CHANGES AHEAD OF MIDTERMS
Currently, Republicans hold just four more seats than Democrats in the House of Representatives.
The GOP holds six more than Democrats in the Senate.
To keep the numbers in their favor, Republicans will need to beat historical trends. In the vast majority of past cases, parties that capture the White House in presidential elections face blowback in the midterms. Notably, the last time a majority party gained seats in both chambers of Congress in the midterms came under the Bush administration in 2002, following devastating attacks on the World Trade Center.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, left, and President Donald Trump shake hands during an Invest America roundtable in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, District of Columbia, on June 9, 2025. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
REPUBLICANS, TRUMP RUN INTO SENATE ROADBLOCK ON VOTER ID BILL
Trump said he believes Republicans have a shot at bucking the trend come November if they focus on his list.
“It’ll guarantee the midterms,” Trump said of his legislative priorities.
Republicans have already taken strikes towards two of them through the SAVE America Act, a piece of legislation that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and cast a ballot. That bill cleared the House last month for a second time in the 119th Congress.
Its future is uncertain in the Senate, where Republicans would need the assistance of seven Democrats to overcome the 60-vote threshold to defeat a filibuster. Democrats, for their part, believe the legislation would disenfranchise voters who cannot readily provide documented proof of citizenship through a passport, REAL ID, or birth certificate.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. has promised a vote on the package despite its long odds.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, talks with a guest during a “Only Citizens Vote Bus Tour” rally in Upper Senate Park to urge Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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Several members have introduced bills on transgender issues, although none of them have cleared either chamber.
“I’ve never been more confident that if we keep these promises and deliver on this popular agenda, the American people will stand with us in overwhelming numbers, just as they did in 2024,” Trump said.
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Trump reveals top issues GOP should focus on to secure midterms victory: ‘I’ve never been more confident’
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