NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani called US Vice President JD Vance's comment about his aunt's fear inappropriate and a "cheap joke" in a Saturday interview on MSNBC.
“This is all the Republican Party has to offer,” Mamdani said, “Cheap jokes about Islamophobia so as to not have to recognize what people are living through, attempts to pit peoples’ humanity against each other.”
In a speech given in front of the Islamic Cultural Center of The Bronx on Friday, Mamdani held back tears as he recalled his aunt's fear of post-September 11 Islamaphobia.
“I want to speak to the memory of my aunt,” Mamdani said, holding back tears, “who stopped taking the subway after September 11 because she did not feel safe in her hijab.”
"According to Zohran, the real victim of 9/11 was his auntie who got some (allegedly) bad looks," Vance responded to Mamdani's remarks in a post to X/Twitter.
During the speech, Mamdani also accused mayoral opponents Andrew Cuomo, Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams of spreading Islamophobia meant to bring down his campaign.
Mamdani meeting 1993 WTC attack unindicted co-conspirator
Mamdani also addressed the social outrage following his meeting with Siraj Wahhaj, an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center Bombings, on October 17.
“The same imam met with Mayor Bloomberg, met with Mayor De Blasio, campaigned alongside Eric Adams, and the only time it became an issue of national attention was when I met with him,” Mamdani said.
He further claimed that the current backlash is prominent due to his faith and because he is on the "precipice of winning this election."
Michael Starr contributed to this report.