New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) are under fire from Republicans after the two socialists were captured on video apparently sharing a laugh as the names of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack were being read off.
Mamdani attended the 25th anniversary ceremony in New York City on Friday, during which family members of the fallen read off the names of nearly 3,000 victims who were killed in the attack. As the names were being read, Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez seemed to giggle with each other.
The exchange quickly gained traction online and caught the ire of Republicans, who viewed the moment as being “disrespectful.” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) responded to the video, questioning how they could be laughing at such a serious event.
“How the hell do you laugh while the names of those murdered on 9/11 are being read aloud?” The senator said. “Why would you do so?”
Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) also responded and did not mince his words in condemning the two lawmakers.
“AOC and Jihadi Mamdani should not be anywhere near that hallowed ground,” Fine said. “They do not mourn this country — they mock it. Have some damn respect.”
Mamdani has faced scrutiny surrounding his attendance at the ceremony due to past statements on U.S. foreign policy and his appointment of Ramzi Kassem to be the city’s chief counsel. Kassem represented Ahmed al Darbi, an al Qaeda associate who pleaded guilty to war crimes charges.
The mayor has defended his attendance at the ceremony, saying he intends to keep the day focused on the victims of the terrorist attacks and the first responders who died trying to save people trapped in the buildings.
However, Mamdani, who is Muslim, posted a statement Thursday about attending a memorial mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral to honor those lost in 9/11. In the post, Mamdani said he was remembering those “who died on 9/11,” which did not sit well with Republicans.
Rep. Riley Moore (R-WV) responded to Mamdani’s post with outrage.
“DIED?? They were murdered by Islamic terrorists!!” Moore said.
Former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt also took to social media to sharply criticize Mamdani’s characterization of 9/11.
“No mention of terrorism,” he said. “We just… ‘bore witness to unimaginable suffering’. Like it was a natural disaster. Did a hurricane hit NYC on 9/11? What exactly happened on that day, Commie Mamdani? What’s with these ‘some people did something’ foreign muslim politicians always downplaying 9/11?”
“At least Ilhan Omar acknowledged that people did it,” he continued. “Zohran can’t even do that. He is just a very nasty, spiteful animal. You saw it in that clip where he was yelling over the police like a rabid chihuahua. You see it in his dark, dead eyes when he drops his Manchurian smile.”
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“This is the darkest anniversary of our nation’s defining tragedy because we all have to suffer the indignity of watching this piece of s*** try to erase our history bit by bit,” Pratt said. “He doesn’t hate the muslim terrorists like we do. It pains him to even address 9/11. You can tell. He doesn’t care. He, like Hasan Piker, thinks we deserved it. F*** off.”
Several other responses took issue with what they saw as Mamdani speaking about the attacks as if they were a “natural disaster” rather than the result of al Qaeda terrorists hijacking planes, killing nearly 3,000 people. Thousands of others have died or gotten sick from the poor air quality in New York City following the collapse of the Twin Towers.