AINSLEY EARHARDT (CO-HOST): While New York City held it's annual Columbus Day parade on Monday, Columbus, OH, the city named for the famous explorer --
BRIAN KILMEADE (CO-HOST): What the heck.
EARHARDT: -- choose not to celebrate him.
...
JOSEPH CONTINO (COLUMBUS ITALIAN FESTIVAL ORGANIZER): So for the past 39 years we've had our Columbus Italian Festival, and we had participation from the city. We didn't find out about the holiday decision until the day of the event, which was just this past Friday. But the event went fine. The festival went forward. But we have an event on Monday, yesterday, a wreath laying ceremony at the statue of Christopher Columbus that was donated to the city by Genoa, Italy, in 1955, that the city did not participate in. Again, “Let's not seek a Republican answer or a Democratic answer, but the right answer,” I believe is what JFK said. We've been working on this for about 23 years as far as the Indigenous peoples thing. And we've been reaching out to local Native American and Indigenous people organizations. If you asked our opinion, we want a combined event. And I don't understand -- we don't understand why the mayor of Columbus wouldn't want a combined event that told the story of both sides. I mean, wouldn't that make the most sense?
KILMEADE: It would. But it's now in fashion not to like Columbus. I suggest somebody read about Columbus. Far from perfect but he was a person of his generation. He changed the world. It was described as -- Columbus is like what we did landing on the moon only it was more dangerous.
