Italian American Leaders Applaud President Trump's Support for Columbus Day

The Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations (COPOMIAO), a nonpartisan cultural nonprofit, stands behind President Trump's order to restore Columbus Day's prominence as the nation's only federally recognized holiday on October 14.

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- COPOMIAO, which has spent the past five years leading advocacy and legal efforts nationwide to preserve Columbus monuments and holidays, welcomed President Donald Trump's announcement Sunday, in which he pledged to honor only the Italian navigator on the second Monday of October, ending the dual recognition of Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples' Day on the federal level. 

However, COPOMIAO has long supported the celebration of Indigenous Peoples, on either the Friday after Thanksgiving, deemed Native American Heritage Day in 2008 by President George W. Bush, or August 9, the date the United Nations designated as Indigenous Peoples' Day.

"Pitting groups against each other — whether through dual recognition or by replacing Columbus Day altogether — was never a real solution, but rather a political measure to appease one group of constituents over another," said COPOMIAO President Basil Russo. "We will continue our legal efforts to preserve Columbus Day, while advocating for the recognition and celebration of all cultures."

This past October, COPOMIAO made headlines when it established ties with the Native American Guardian's Association (NAGA), bringing both communities together for a cultural celebration at Chicago's Columbus Day Parade.

Opponents of Columbus statues and holidays assert the parades and monuments represent colonialism or enslavement. Ironically, the navigator's likeness was initially embraced to promote greater acceptance of early immigrants to the U.S.

In 1892, U.S. President Benjamin Harrison organized the first national Columbus Day parade in New York City, aiming to ease a diplomatic crisis between the U.S. and Italy. The uproar arose a year earlier when the largest lynch mob ever to assemble on U.S. soil murdered 11 innocent Italian immigrants in the streets of New Orleans.

President Harrison's NYC parade, which drew a million attendees, inspired Italian Americans throughout the 1900s to install Columbus statues and hold parades across the U.S., symbolizing their drive for assimilation. Today, Columbus Day honors Italian American pride and heritage.

ABOUT COPOMIAO

Formed in NYC in 1975, the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations (COPOMIAO) is a national coalition of 71 cultural, educational, fraternal and anti-defamation groups that advocate for the Italian American culture. Contact Us.

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SOURCE The Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations