New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) has responded to the families of 9/11 victims who called on him to be banned from the 25th anniversary ceremony of the attacks at Ground Zero.
During a press briefing Monday on municipal grocery stores, Mamdani, who is NYC’s first Muslim mayor, spoke about the backlash after a reporter asked him how he feels about the fact that some people are trying to “keep [him] away” from the commemoration.
“I will proudly honor the families, the survivors, the first responders forever impacted by that horrific terror attack by standing alongside them at this year’s 9/11 commemoration — reaffirming that we will never forget the solemn day felt by all of us who call this city home,” he replied.
Mamdani added, “And frankly, by all of us who call this country home.”
Mamdani’s response came after a petition for his exclusion was posted on Change.org, citing a slew of grievances about the mayor.
Petitioners of Mamdani’s banishment listed concerns such as his reluctance to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” during his campaign and what they say is his support for individuals who are “viewed by concerned family members as dismissive of American institutions or insufficiently critical of extremist ideologies.”
After winning the Democratic primary, Mamdani said he would discourage use of the “intifada” phrase, which was popularized among critics of Israel’s siege on Gaza and is seen by some groups as antisemitic.
Mamdani previously decried Islamophobia in the New York City mayor’s race in October 2025.
“Growing up in the shadow of 9/11, I have known what it means to live with an undercurrent of suspicion in this city,” he said of facing discrimination as a Muslim New Yorker during a presser at a Bronx mosque. “I will always remember the disdain that I faced.”
He added, “The way that my name could immediately become ‘Mohammed’ and how I could return to my city only to be asked in a double-mirrored room in the airport if I had any plan of attacking it.”