Five years after statues of storied Italian explorer Christopher Columbus were toppled, beheaded and otherwise vandalized across America in the name of “social justice,” the issue has once again been raised before the Columbus Day holiday.
Socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has been battling through many extreme viewpoints he’s shared in the past — including about the Italian man who discovered America.
A resurfaced photo from his X account from June 2020 showed the candidate’s hand in the foreground flipping off a statue of Columbus, which stood in the background.
Zohran Mamdani flipped off a statue of Christopher Columbus in 2020. (AP Newsroom)
In 2021, then-President Joe Biden proclaimed that Indigenous Peoples Day would be celebrated on the second Monday in October, though the holiday was never officially changed.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation recognizing Monday’s holiday as Columbus Day.
“In other words, we’re calling it Columbus Day,” Trump said while a White House staffer read the proclamation.
The press in the room surprised Trump by applauding the move.
“That was the press that broke out in applause,” Trump joked. “I’ve never seen that happen. The press actually broke out in applause. Good. Columbus Day. We’re back. Columbus Day. We’re back, Italians. We love the Italians.”
Russo praised Trump’s effort.
President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Thursday ahead of a Cabinet meeting honoring Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“You now see a bit of a change going on in the climate because President Trump isn’t mincing any words about his support for Columbus, and that kind of changes the environment throughout the country,” he said.
“What the president is doing is saying that he understands the contributions that Christopher Columbus made to this country, and that he appreciates the historical relevance of Columbus to the Italian-American community, and he supports Columbus being treated as a bona fide American hero. And that is extremely important to the Italian-American community because it helps us to preserve and perpetuate our heritage that we hope to pass on to other generations.”
