.jpg&w=1920&q=75)
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani triggered intense fury on Friday after he was caught on camera giggling with fellow socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) at the 9/11 memorial on the 25th anniversary of the deadly terrorist attacks. Real America's Voice live coverage showed the pair sharing a jovial moment as other attendees wept while the names of every 9/11 victim were read aloud.
Both Mamdani and AOC faced fierce backlash on social media over their behavior, with perhaps no one capturing the reaction better than Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt (R):
“This level of disrespect is incomprehensible. As the names of Americans murdered on September 11th are read aloud at Ground Zero, AOC and Mamdani are laughing and smiling together. There is a time and a place for politics. This isn’t it. Ground Zero is sacred ground. Those names belong to fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, firefighters, cops, and innocent Americans who went to work one morning and never came home. For a few hours, on one day, have some damn respect. September 11th is not a photo op. It is not a networking event. It is a funeral America has attended for 25 years.”
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani aide Michael Ragusa claimed in a post on X that the reports on Mamdani and AOC laughing were “not true” – but in the same post, he stated that the camera “just caught her greeting him hello.” Notably, the reports did not speculate about what prompted the playful exchange, only that the footage showed the pair chuckling as 9/11 victims’ names were being read and other attendees sobbed.
9/11 Families Reject Mamdani
Mamdani’s very presence at the memorial was already a point of controversy among many 9/11 victims’ families, who even created a petition to stop Mamdani from attending the solemn event. The families cited several concerns about Mamdani, including what they described as a “perceived reluctance to clearly and unequivocally condemn phrases such as ‘globalize the intifada,’ which many interpret as endorsing or normalizing violence.” They also pointed to his praise of Brooklyn Imam Siraj Wahhaj, who has been linked to radical Islam, and his support for candidates who have a history of hostile language toward the US – including Democratic primary winner Darializa Avila Chevalier, who previously tweeted, “I forgot to get napkins so I just wiped my hand on the American flag behind me.”
“For 9/11 families, this is not simply a public ceremony—it is a deeply personal day of mourning. The presence of individuals whose words or associations are perceived as conflicting with the solemn purpose of the event risks detracting from that focus and causing additional pain,” the families added. The petition had over 113,000 signatures at the time of this writing.
Despite the families’ objections, Mamdani attended the official ceremony at Ground Zero and delivered remarks at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine's 9/11 interfaith service, honoring those killed, their families, and the many heroes of that day, including first responders.
A Solemn George W. Bush
Unlike Mamdani and AOC, former President George W. Bush, who led Americans through the horrific terrorist attacks, remained solemn throughout the 9/11 memorial service. In a post on Instagram, the former president wrote, in part: “The memories of the 2,977 men and women stolen on 9/11 burn just as brightly in our hearts 25 years later. We have a duty beyond remembering. Americans have a duty to live our lives in a way that upholds the ideals for which they gave their lives, and we will.”
.jpg&w=1920&q=75)
