US Vice President JD Vance took a swipe at Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Saturday, referring to his remarks about his aunt facing “indignities” as a Muslim following the September 11 attacks.
Mamdani, on Friday, spoke outside the Bronx mosque, fighting back tears, as he addressed the Muslims of New York City. “I want to speak to the memory of my aunt, who stopped taking the subway after September 11th because she did not feel safe in her hijab.”
Sharing Mamdani’s remarks on X, Vance said, “According to Zohran, the real victim of 9/11 was his auntie who got some (allegedly) bad looks.”
During his address on Friday, Mamdani also recounted how, when he first entered politics, his uncle gently suggested that he keep his faith to himself.
“These lessons that so many Muslim New Yorkers have been taught. And over these last few days, these lessons have become the closing messages of Andrew Cuomo, Curtis Sliwa and Eric Adams,” he added.
Mamdani pledged to embrace his Muslim identity in response to the growing attacks by Cuomo and his associates that he termed as racist and baseless.
Zohran Mamdani’s remarks came after his face-off with former governor and independent NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo.
Later on Friday, Cuomo accused Mamdani of “playing the victim” for political goals and denied the existence of Islamophobia on a wide scale in New York.
This is not the first time that Mamdani has been criticised for his stance on the Gaza war and Islamophobia.
Cuomo had on Thursday had appeared on a conservative radio station, and laughed alongside host Sid Rosenberg’s suggestion that Madani would be “cheering” another 9/11 attack. “That’s another problem,” Cuomo reportedly said.
Last week, Mamdani came under fire for his smiling photo with a controversial imam, who federal prosecutors believed was a “co-conspirator” of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Critics recalled the horror that was felt during the attack, asking why Mamdani had to “trigger people” by posting the photo.
A sister of the 1993 bombings’ survivor said that Mamdani’s act to stand with an unindicted co-conspirator is “deeply insensitive and shameful”.
Earlier this month, Mamdani was also criticised for taking part in the “Gaza 5K”, a charity run promoting the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, which has been extensively condemned for connections to Hamas.
Netizens took to social media to accuse Mamdani of funding an organisation connected to the deadly Hamas terror assaults on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Republican Representative Elise Stefanik slammed Mamdani and posted on X, “Do not let the pro-Hamas jihadis win and destroy NY!”
Zohran Mamdani has also attracted jibes from President Donald Trump, who calls him a “little communist”.
