Mamdani stokes Italian American outrage after resurfaced tweet shows socialist giving the finger to Christopher Columbus statue: ‘Take it down'
Italian Americans were outraged at mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani Monday after a social media post resurfaced showing him flipping the bird at a statue of Christopher Columbus and calling for its removal.
The socialist Mamdani is seen in the tweet from June 2020 giving the middle finger to the back of the towering figure in Astoria, which is part of his state Assembly district.
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5 Italian Americans were outraged at mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani Monday after a social media post resurfaced.
Stephen Yang
'Take it down,' wrote Mamdani, who was running for state office at the time.
The tweet left a bad taste in the mouth of Italian American groups in the Big Apple this week, including the Columbus Heritage Coalition.
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Angelo Vivolo, the group's president, vowed not to support the lefty candidate come November.
5 The socialist Mamdani is seen in the tweet from June 2020 giving the middle finger to the back of the towering figure in Astoria.
Zohran Mamdani/X
'We will defend Columbus Day and Columbus statues,' he told The Post.
'He is being disrespectful to the Italian American community' said Vivolo, who is the former head of the Columbus Citizens Foundation, which runs the city's Columbus Day Parade. 'If you offend one community, you offend all communities.
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'I don't think he will be mayor for all the people of New York City.'
5 'Take it down,' wrote Mamdani, who was running for state office at the time.
Matthew McDermott
The Italian voting bloc that Mamdani disrespected makes up about 8% of the city's population, noted Joseph Scelsa, the founder and president of the Italian American Museum.
'To eliminate such a large population of people would be a travesty,' he said. 'It's not inclusive. It's exclusionary.
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'Who's to say who is a hero and who is not a hero? Columbus is our hero.'
5 The tweet left a bad taste in the mouth of Italian American groups in the Big Apple this week, including the Columbus Heritage Coalition.
Robert Miller
An email to Mamdani's campaign about the brewing controversy was not immediately returned.
The wet behind the ears socialist shocked ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in June's Democratic primary, putting him in the driver's seat for November.
Mamdani could face Cuomo again in the general election — the longtime Italian American pol is mulling a run as an independent — along with Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, and GOP candidate Curtis Sliwa.
5 An email to Mamdani's campaign about the brewing controversy was not immediately returned.
Matthew McDermott
Lefties have made a habit of targeting Columbus statues and Columbus Day because of the famed explorer's treatment of Native Americans when sailing to North America.
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But supporters argue he's important to Italian Americans and his voyage was a critical moment in history.
The statue Mamdani condemned in his tweet is one of the five in Big Apple parks, according to city officials.
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