The New York Police Department (NYPD) will not provide a security detail to Mayor Zohran Mamdani's wife during her upcoming vacation to Syria and Lebanon, two countries currently under a State Department "Do Not Travel" advisory due to terrorism concerns. The NYPD's decision directly contradicts an earlier statement from the mayor's office.
Mamdani's wife, Rama Duwaji, plans to visit family in Syria and Lebanon in September. A spokesperson for the NYPD told Fox News that the department "does not send officers to countries with level 4 travel advisories for discretionary reasons such as personal travel."
Earlier, Mamdani's spokeswoman had reportedly stated that, "Upon the strong recommendation of the NYPD, the first lady’s security detail will be joining her when she travels to visit family in Syria and Lebanon." Following the NYPD's clarification, the mayor attributed the discrepancy to a staff "miscommunication."
The president of the NYPD Detectives’ Endowment Association, Scott Munro, criticized the implication that detectives would accompany the mayor's wife on such a trip. "Our detectives put themselves in harm’s way every day protecting New Yorkers," Munro said. "The DEA would never remain silent if our members were asked to travel to a dangerous, off-limits foreign country for anything other than a legitimate law-enforcement or intelligence operation." He added, "Our detectives are needed here in New York City protecting residents and fighting crime."
Mamdani has a history of critical statements regarding the NYPD. In 2020, he posted on X, "There is no negotiating with an institution this wicked & corrupt. Defund it. Dismantle it. End the cycle of violence." In other posts that year, he stated, "We don't need an investigation to know that the NYPD is racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety" and called for the #DefundTheNYPD. He also stated, "Queer liberation means defund the police."
Mamdani has also faced scrutiny for his views on Israel, referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a "war criminal" and calling for his arrest. He has drawn parallels between the NYPD and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), stating during a 2023 Democratic Socialists of America convention, "We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF."
During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani stated he did not support defunding the police. He was recently booed offstage at a pro-police event in Staten Island.