Vice President JD Vance has lashed out at Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayoral candidate, concerning his comments about 9/11. Mamdani who is reportedly gaining ground in the mayoral race, recently spoke about his family’s experience with Islamophobia following the tragic events of 9/11. He shared an emotional video and explained the prejudice that his aunt experienced at the time of terrorist attacks, when she was wearing a hijab in public.
In contrast, JD Vance said the video shared by the mayoral candidate failed to acknowledge the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives in the attacks, as well as those who were injured. Vance took his X handle to share his thoughts, “According to Zohran the real victim of 9/11 was his auntie who got some (allegedly) bad looks.”
According to Zohran the real victim of 9/11 was his auntie who got some (allegedly) bad looks https://t.co/UGeKANSAH2
— JD Vance (@JDVance) October 25, 2025
The video that Mamdani also went viral, where he said, “I want to speak to the memory of my aunt, who stopped taking the subway after September 11th because she did not feel safe in her hijab.” He further continued and said, “The dream of every Muslim is simply to be treated the same as any other New Yorker, and yet, for too long, we have been told to ask for less than that and to be satisfied with whatever little we receive. No more!”
Alongside Vance’s response to Mamdani’s post, CNN’s Scott Jennings also wrote on X, ‘There was one big thing missing from Zohran Mamdani’s emotional remarks about 9/11.’ He also said, “Any mention of the VICTIMS of the worst terror attack on US soil. What are we to infer from this?” Another user commented, “She was THE real victim on 9/11. Really? That’s about the stupidest statement ever.”
Reports also say that the comments made by Mamdani came as a response to growing attacks by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo that he stated him to be “racist and baseless.” He accused Cuomo of “engaging in rhetoric that is not only Islamophobic, not only racist, it’s also disgusting.”
Cuomo wasn’t done. At a Friday press conference, he scoffed: “Zohran is an actor and his entire campaign has been theatrics. Literally, his mother is a noted film director. Don’t tell me New Yorkers are Islamophobic. They’re not. What he is doing is the oldest, dirtiest political trick in the book: divide people.”
What started as a heartfelt speech about prejudice has turned into one of the ugliest fights of the campaign season.
Was Mamdani being honest about his family’s pain, or exploiting tragedy for attention? As the dust settles, one thing is clear: more than two decades later, the legacy of 9/11 still cuts deep in American politics.
