Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor and a Queens state assemblyman, faced criticism after a review found his Sept. 11 anniversary posts on X have been largely identical since 2019.
A New York Post review of Mamdani’s X account found that his posts commemorating the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks between 2019 and 2024 used nearly the same language each year, with only minor alterations. The Sept. 11, 2024, post read in part: “Nearly 3,000 New Yorkers died on 9/11. We mourn our neighbors who died that day. The countless first responders and families whose lives were forever changed. The millions who suffered in the wars that followed. In their memory, we work toward a better world.” The 2020 post included similar phrasing but emphasized deaths in the wars that followed: “Nearly 3,000 New Yorkers died on 9/11; 19 years later, the death hasn’t stopped. We mourn our neighbors who died that day. The hundreds of thousands who died in the wars that followed. The unknown millions injured & displaced. In their memory, we work toward a better world.”
The similarities were highlighted in a viral post on X by a user identifying as a former Democrat and retired government service worker, who wrote that Mamdani had “literally cut and pasted the same 9/11 statement every year, just changes the years.” The post said Mamdani “never mentions 9/11 First Responders,” a point that drew criticism from some former first responders who said omission of specific language honoring those workers was striking.
“To not mention the hundreds of first responders who died that day, and the hundreds that have died since is the slap in the face to every first responder who continue to make sacrifices every day to make this a safer city,” said retired NYPD Lt. John Grimpel, who was on Church Street when the Twin Towers fell. A retired emergency services police officer who was at Ground Zero on Sept. 11 called the omission “bothersome, but not surprising,” and criticized Mamdani’s past support for “defund the police” rhetoric.
The 2024 post did explicitly mention “countless first responders and their families,” while earlier posts focused on victims and the toll of subsequent wars, according to the review. Mamdani’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The controversy over the anniversary posts comes as Mamdani’s campaign has also drawn scrutiny for his association with Hasan Piker, a political commentator who previously said, in a quoted remark, that “America deserved 9/11.” Critics including former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and some public-safety unions have pressed Mamdani on the association; supporters of Mamdani’s campaign have accused opponents of engaging in anti-Muslim smears by highlighting the link. Mamdani has previously distanced himself from his earlier calls to "defund the police," and his campaign has sought to emphasize his current positions on public safety.
Other leading mayoral candidates, including Mayor Eric Adams, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and GOP nominee Curtis Sliwa, have issued original Sept. 11 statements in past years, according to a review of social media and public remarks. The viral post and attendant coverage emerged ahead of the 24th anniversary of the attacks, when public attention typically focuses on official commemorations and candidates’ statements.
If elected in November, Mamdani would become New York City’s first Muslim mayor. The debate over the wording and repetition of his anniversary posts adds to a broader conversation about how candidates address public safety, the memory of 9/11 and ties to controversial online figures during the city’s mayoral campaign.
