JD Vance has hit out at Zohran Mamdani over his comments on 9/11. (Photos: AP)
Photo : AP
US Vice President JD Vance has criticised New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani over comments the Democrat made about his aunt’s experience following the 9/11 attacks.
Posting on X on Saturday, Vance wrote that “according to Zohran, the real victim of 9/11 was his aunt”, drawing a reference to the remarks made by Mamdani at a campaign event a day earlier. Early voting began the same day in New York City, where Mamdani, considered the frontrunner, faces competition from former governor Andrew Cuomo and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa.
At the Friday event, Mamdani spoke about the experiences of Muslim New Yorkers in the aftermath of the attacks. “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,” he said in a clip Vance later shared.
Responding to those comments, Vance wrote, “According to Zohran, the real victim of 9/11 was his auntie who got some (allegedly) bad looks.”
New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks at the Islamic Cultural Center of the Bronx mosque on Friday. (Photo: AP)
Photo : AP
In his speech, Mamdani also addressed the discrimination against Muslim public servants and young people in the city. “I want to speak to the Muslim who works for our city, whether they teach in our schools or walk the beat for the NYPD… only to see their leaders spit in their face,” he said.
“I want to speak to every child who grows up here marked as the other, who is randomly selected in a way that never quite feels random,” he added. “Growing up in the shadow of 9/11, I have known what it means to live with an undercurrent of suspicion in this city.”
What Sparked off the Comments?
Mamdani, who represents Queens in the state assembly, has been at the centre of a heated political exchange this week. He accused Cuomo of using “Islamophobic rhetoric” after the former governor appeared on WABC’s Sid & Friends in the Morning on Thursday, where host Sid Rosenberg suggested Mamdani “would be cheering” if New York City faced another 9/11-style attack.
Cuomo questioned Mamdani’s ability to lead during a crisis, saying: “Any given moment, there’s a crisis, and people’s lives are at stake. God forbid, there’s another 9/11. Can you imagine Mamdani in the seat?”
“He’d be cheering,” Rosenberg replied. “That’s another problem,” Cuomo said, before adding, “But could you imagine that?”
Asked later if he viewed Cuomo’s comments as Islamophobic, Mamdani replied: “Yes, I believe that they were. We’re speaking about a former governor who, in his final moments in public life, is engaging in rhetoric that is not only Islamophobic, not only racist — it’s also disgusting.”