New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani skipped Manhattan’s Columbus Day Parade Monday, and several attendees were glad he did.
The New York Times reported that City Hall’s media office declined to explain why Mamdani was skipping the country’s largest celebration of Italian-American culture.
In 2020, the mayor infamously posted a photo of himself giving a statue of Christopher Columbus in Queens the finger on social media and captioned it, “Take it down.”
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani breaks with a longstanding mayoral tradition by skipping the city’s annual Columbus Day Parade on Fifth Avenue.
His absence is drawing backlash from Italian Americans and renewed scrutiny of his past criticism of Christopher Columbus.
In 2020, Mamdani posted a photo of himself giving the middle finger to a statue of the explorer.
The 82nd annual parade celebrates Italian American heritage, culture and history, with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman and New York Attorney General Letitia James among those attending.
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 12, 2026
Over the weekend, Mamdani posted a video on social media celebrating Italian Heritage Month, but made no mention of Columbus.
Happy Italian Heritage Month, New York.
Here’s continuing to fight for Vito Marcantonio’s vision of a government that works for all working people. https://t.co/9mlQN7mAZR
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) October 10, 2026
Do you think Mayor Mamdani should have attended the Columbus Day Parade?
Yes, he should have supported the tradition
55% (11 votes)
No, he made the right choice
45% (9 votes)
Fox News reported that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman, and New York Attorney General Letitia James attended the 82nd annual Columbus Day parade.
Blakeman told the New York Post regarding Mamdani’s absence, “I think that’s an affront to Italian Americans,” adding, “The fact is that he is a very divisive guy. He’s got people at each other’s throats. As an elected official, you’re supposed to make people happy, bring them together.”
Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the vigilante group the Guardian Angels, who ran for mayor last year, commented, “We have a word for that in the streets. It’s disgrazia.”
However, New York resident Anne Marie told the Post, “It’s better that he’s not here,” explaining, “It probably would have been controversial. Nobody wants to look at his face.”
Similarly, Camile Staffe said, “I’m happy. It’s about the Italians. Italy doesn’t get enough credit, but we contribute to America… They try to make it about indigenous people. It’s not fair,” proudly pointing out, “My grandfather helped build the Empire State Building.”
Michael Crispi, the head of the Italian American Civil Rights League, told The New York Times that the mayor should not have been invited in the first place.
“He has contempt for Italian Americans,” Crispi said. “You’re begging for approval of this guy who should be apologizing to us” over his 2020 Columbus statue picture.
BREAKING 🚨 Mayor Zohran Mamdani has REJECTED an invite (that should have never been offered) to march in the Columbus Day Parade tomorrow.
He also REFUSES to acknowledge true Italian American history, despite his little video.
Here is our full breakdown and response. https://t.co/wCZL5MdQoY
— The Italian American Civil Rights League (@TheIACRL) October 12, 2026
Joann Ariola, a member of the New York City Council, said ahead of the parade, “He should sit this one out.”
In contrast to Mamdani, President Donald Trump, a native New Yorker, went all in celebrating Columbus Day.
In this Administration, Christopher Columbus is a hero!
Happy Columbus Day! https://t.co/HrRnqKd9l4
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 12, 2026
In his proclamation, the president said that the Italian explorer and his crew “unleashed a bold new age of discovery that expanded the horizons of knowledge, carried the splendors of the Western world across an ocean, and set in motion the forces that would culminate in the miracle of July 4, 1776.”
He also noted that he had a statue of Columbus installed on the White House grounds, which is a replica of one that was torn down and thrown into Baltimore Harbor on July 4, 2020.
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