New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were filmed laughing together during Friday’s 25th-anniversary 9/11 memorial service as relatives read the names of those killed in the attacks.
The two Democrats appeared to break into laughter during the solemn Ground Zero ceremony in lower Manhattan, while mourners around them remained silent.
Seconds before the camera turned to Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez, a victim’s relative was shown weeping at the memorial as loved ones on stage continued reading the names of the dead.
The footage rapidly spread on social media, where critics said the pair’s reaction was “a slap in the face” to 9/11 victims and their families.
The controversy follows calls from 9/11 victims’ groups for Mamdani not to attend the commemoration, requests the mayor declined.
Mamdani also drew sharp criticism this week for giving a ceremonial pen from a 9/11 remembrance event to an attorney who previously represented a convicted al-Qaeda member and whose brother was among the attack hijackers.
A petition organized by relatives of 9/11 victims calling on the mayor to skip the annual ceremony collected more than 100,000 signatures. Former New York Gov. George Pataki also urged Mamdani to stay away.
Asked this week about the demands that he avoid the event, Mamdani said he would attend and that he wanted “the focus to be on the families whose loved ones were stolen from them 25 years ago in the horrific act of terror of September 11th.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were filmed laughing together as the names of 9/11 victims were read at Ground Zero.
The Democrats appeared to burst into laughter during Friday morning’s solemn lower Manhattan ceremony as mourners stood quietly around them.
New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez smiles at the event on Friday
At the event at Ground Zero on Friday, Mamdani was also seen greeting former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani in an awkward exchange.
The pair got into a public spat after Giuliani also joined the calls for Mamdani to avoid this week’s 9/11 ceremonies.
Giuliani has said the Muslim mayor’s presence ‘offends’ him, and claimed Mamdani is ‘disturbing the people who are the most important people at that celebration.’
‘He stands in direct support of the movement that killed their children,’ he told Newsmax last week.
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As a result, Mamdani released hundreds of thousands of previously unseen records that allegedly confirmed Giuliani’s administration knew about the toxic dangers of the city’s air quality following the September 11 attacks.
New York City councilwoman Vickie Paladino also joined calls for Mamdani to avoid the event, as she said his presence would sent a ‘message to Osama bin Laden that, look, “We conquered New York.”‘
Paladino cited Mamdani’s decision to allow former attorney for an al-Qaeda operative, Ramzi Kassem, to take part in a recent 9/11-related signing ceremony, and specifically handing him a pen used to sign an executive order recognizing the terror attack.
‘I am sick to death of all of this,’ Paladino complained to Fox News’ Laura Ingraham. ‘We need to be able to see through this total, absolute farce that they’re trying to pawn off on New Yorkers and across the country.’
At the event at Ground Zero on Friday, Mamdani was also seen greeting former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani in an awkward exchange
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani attended the annual event at Ground Zero on Friday, despite calls from 9/11 victims’ families to stay away
Mourners gather at the 9/11 25th anniversary event at Ground Zero on Friday
Thousands of people gathered for the solemn 25th anniversary event
Ahead of the event, the Port Authority Retired Police Association sent an open letter to Mamdani urging him to avoid Friday’s event, saying his attendance would inflict ‘deep pain’ on victims’ families.
John McDevitt, president of the retired first responders’ association, wrote in the letter to the mayor: ‘For us, September 11 is not a political occasion, a photo opportunity, or a platform for public officials.
‘It is a solemn day of remembrance for those who were murdered, those who responded, those who survived, and the families who have carried these losses for twenty-five years.’
The police union said officers have ‘profound concerns’ over Mamdani’s public statements and positions, which they say ‘risk shifting attention away from the people whose lives, courage, and sacrifice the ceremony exists to honor.’
‘This is our day to remember,’ he wrote. ‘Please allow us to remember in peace.’
The Daily Mail has contacted Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez’s representatives for comment.