New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino has accused Mayor Zohran Mamdani of sending a message to Osama bin Laden with his planned attendance at the city's upcoming 9/11 commemoration. Paladino made the remarks during an appearance on Fox News, stating that Mamdani's actions convey a message that "We conquered New York."
Paladino, a conservative from Queens, also criticized Mamdani for allowing Ramzi Kassem, who previously served as an attorney for an al-Qaeda operative, to participate in a recent 9/11-related signing ceremony. Kassem, who is now Mamdani's chief counsel, was reportedly handed a pen used to sign an executive order aimed at enhancing the city's security.
"I am sick to death of all of this," Paladino said during the interview. "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." She described the ceremonial pen handover to Kassem as "cryptic" and a "message."
The councilwoman expressed concern that Mamdani's attendance at the 25th anniversary commemoration ceremony, which is exclusively for 9/11 victims' families, sends a similarly troubling signal. "The same way it’s a message when [Mamdani] goes down to [the] 9/11 [25th anniversary commemoration ceremony]," she stated.
Paladino also questioned Mamdani's electoral victory, suggesting he won with "transplants, ages 18 to 30 years old," rather than long-term New Yorkers. She claimed Mamdani is "tending his nest with these young people" and not engaging with "average, middle white, working class people."
A Siena University poll conducted in late June indicated that Mamdani holds a 58 percent approval rating, with 26 percent disapproval. Similar approval ratings have been reported in other recent polls.
Mamdani, who defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the 2025 Democratic primaries, had centered his campaign on affordability, despite past statements associated with democratic socialism.
The 9/11 commemoration event is scheduled to include the traditional reading of names and marks 25 years since the attacks. Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of al-Qaeda, was killed by U.S. Navy SEALs in 2011.