Prominent MAGA-aligned commentators launched xenophobic attacks on Zohran Mamdani over the 33-year-old state lawmaker’s Muslim religion following his apparent Democratic primary win in the New York City mayoral race.
In a series of posts, conservative social media personality Laura Loomer wrote “New York City will be destroyed,” Muslims will start “committing jihad all over New York” and that “NYC is about to see 9/11 2.0.”
Xenophobic Reactions to Mamdani’s Victory
If elected in November, Mamdani would become the first Muslim mayor in New York City’s history. And while many conservatives have criticized Mamdani’s progressive policies, others have taken aim at Mamdani for his religion.
“24 years ago a group of Muslims killed 2,753 people on 9/11,” conservative activist Charlie Kirk posted on X, referencing the number of people killed in New York. “Now a Muslim Socialist is on pace to run New York City.”
“New York City has fallen,” Donald Trump Jr. wrote, quoting a post by Michael Malice about when New Yorkers “endured 9/11 instead of voting for it.”
Challenges Faced by Mamdani
“After 9/11 we said ‘Never Forget.’ I think we sadly have forgotten,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) posted on X Wednesday, accompanied by a photo of Mamdani.
Mamdani’s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the statements.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist, won 43.5 percent of first-place votes in New York’s ranked-choice voting system. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the once-favorite to take the primary, conceded to Mamdani Tuesday night. However, the city board of elections is not expected to finalize results until early July, once ranked-choice votes are tabulated.
Controversy Surrounding Mamdani
During the primary some of Mamdani’s critics, including a super PAC backing Cuomo, said he either emboldens antisemitism or has himself espoused antisemitic views, in particular over his stance on Israel.
He has repeatedly criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza, and in a June interview with The Bulwark, Mamdani said the phrase “globalize the intifada” represented “a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights.” Mamdani drew heavy criticism for the statement, marking a tension point in a primary election in a city with large populations of Muslim and Jewish residents.
Mamdani’s Response to Criticism
He has repeatedly pushed back against the antisemitism label, decrying violence against Jews in the country.
“I’ve said at every opportunity that there is no room for antisemitism in this city, in this country,” he said at an emotional press conference in the closing days of the race, adding the reason he does not have a more “visceral reaction” to being labeled that is because it has “been colored by the fact that when I speak, especially when I speak with emotion, I am then characterized by those same rivals as being a monster.”
At the same press conference, he said he has faced significant attacks because of his religion.
“I get messages that say, ‘The only good Muslim is a dead Muslim.’ I get threats on my life, on the people that I love. And I try not to talk about it,” he said at that press conference.
