From Fox News: A resurfaced photo of New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani flipping off a statue of Christopher Columbus is sparking backlash online and with some members of the Italian-American community.
“Take it down,” Mamdani posted in June 2020, along with a photo showing what is presumably his gloved hand raising the middle finger toward a statue of the famed Italian explorer in Astoria, New York.
In a post around the same time, Mamdani asked his followers in a poll who should be honored instead of Columbus with options that included, “Tony Bennett (Astoria native, music icon) Walter Audisio (Communist partisan, killed Mussolini) Sacco & Vanzetti (Executed due to anti-Italian sentiment).”
The winners of the poll were Sacco and Vanzetti, two anarcho-communists executed in 1927.
The appalling and offensive post is still up on Mamdani’s X page.
Take it down. pic.twitter.com/7Bmis8hnnh
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) June 18, 2020
Mamdani, 33, who was born in Uganda, is a socialist and a Shia Muslim. He only gained his U.S. citizenship in 2018. And he is likely to be elected as the mayor of New York City, the largest city in America.
On June 15, 2020, Mamdani brazenly wrote, “In 2017, NYC ordered a review of public works constituting “symbols of hate” for potential removal. But a statue of Columbus remains in Astoria, in defiance of the values of humanity, empathy & justice that we stand for. It has to go. Sign the petition.”
He then posted the poll:
The Italian-American community has a rich history in Astoria. Who should we honor instead?
Tony Bennett (Astoria native, music icon)
Walter Audisio (Communist partisan, killed Mussolini)
Sacco & Vanzetti (Executed due to anti-Italian sentiment)— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) June 15, 2020
Mamdani has been hit with massive backlash since attention was drawn to his old posts. Below is just a sampling of the angry comments pouring in.
Like this comment if you think Zohran Mamdani should be stripped of his citizenship and deported back to Uganda.
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) July 6, 2025
Send him back.
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) July 6, 2025
Time for Zohran to be sent back to the sht*hole of Uganda where he belongs.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 6, 2025
Americans of Italian descent, especially those who are the ancestors of the men and women who built New York City deserve so much better than you.
— Mayor Jondavid “JD” Longo (@JondavidRLongo) July 7, 2025
Naturalization is a PRIVILEGE, not a RIGHT.
If the State Department considers someone to be a national security risk, we can revoke their citizenship.
Send Zohran back to Uganda.
— The Conservative Alternative (@OldeWorldOrder) July 6, 2025
Looks like he really hates being an American, but really wanted the citizenship
— Ella Travels (Ella Kenan) (@EllaTravelsLove) July 7, 2025
READ MORE from Fox News.
Resurfaced Mamdani photo sparks social media firestorm, outrage from key voting bloc: ‘Shameful’ https://t.co/PBzAmrmoV1
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 8, 2025
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