Throughout history, most US presidents have had ethnic backgrounds spanning across Western Europe. While most have roots in the British Isles, several of this country’s past commanders-in-chief have had French, German, Dutch, and Swiss ancestors. However, the United States has never had a chief executive with Italian heritage.
That may change soon, though, as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has announced his candidacy for this nation’s highest office in 2024. The former Lieutenant commander in the United States Navy has made a name for himself in the Republican Party for his response to COVID-19 in the Sunshine State and feels that he is ready to go up against Donald Trump for a chance to represent the GOP in the next election cycle. If elected, DeSantis would become for first-ever Italian American president as all eight of his great-grandparents were born in Italy.
Salvatore Storti, his great-great-grandfather, arrived in the United States in 1904 and settled in Pennsylvania before his pregnant wife, Luigia Colucci, and their two daughters joined him in early 1917. During Luigia’s journey from Italy, the Immigration Act of 1917 was passed which required immigrants seeking entry to the US to take literacy tests to prevent those who were unable to read or write from becoming Americans. Luigia fell in this category but was luckily not impacted by the legislation as it did not go into effect until May of that year.
You may be asking yourself why an Italian American has never been elected. Well, the most common hypothesis is a general hesitancy around voting for Catholics, as Italy holds the center of the Roman Catholic Church in Vatican City. However, with the inauguration of Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States became just the second to be a member of the Catholic Church, with the first being John F. Kennedy.
Now that America has finally felt comfortable enough to place its faith in a Catholic leader for the first time in 60 years, perhaps 2024 could be the year that a politician of Italian descent breaks the pattern and can generate enough votes to become the leader of the free world.
If you continue to support this embarrassment to Italian Pride, cancel my subscription to HArdcore Italians. This guy is a fucking embarrassment to Italians everywhere.
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