AOC, Mamdani interaction caught on cam at 9/11 memorial sparks online fury
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., were lambasted Friday for appearing to share a moment of levity at the 9/11 Memorial in lower Manhattan during...
By Fox News · Fox News
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., were lambasted Friday for appearing to share a moment of levity at the 9/11 Memorial in lower Manhattan during the solemn reading-of-the-names of victims. Mamdani was already facing criticism from some 9/11 victims’ families over his attendance when a television feed showing the reading of victims’ names cut from a young man sobbing at the memorial to the mayor and congresswoman appearing to grin and laugh as they spoke, though their conversation was inaudible. "Disgraceful," said Steve Guest, a former top staffer for Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. "AOC and Mamdani look happy." MAMDANI HEADS TO 9/11 MEMORIAL DESPITE 110,000-SIGNATURE PUSH FROM VICTIMS’ FAMILIES TO STAY AWAY "They always show us who they really are," another critic on X said. Others critics were more direct. "Why the f--- are these two laughing?" Meghan McCain , daughter of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., asked. FAMILIES OF 9/11 VICTIMS' MESSAGE TO MAMDANI: 'PLEASE DO NOT COME' TO MEMORIAL CEREMONY However, a top member of former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's entourage claimed that the video was taken out of context. "The videos of [them] laughing are not true. I was standing next to them the whole time," tweeted Michael Ragusa , reportedly head of Giuliani's security as of 2025, according to WPIX-11 . "The camera just caught her greeting him hello. Multiple other politicians were laughing and joking behind me. Republicans and Democrats." The Pittsburgh Republican Committee suggested on X that the sight was one of the reasons 9/11 victims families didn’t want the mayor there, while former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt also sounded off. ZOHRAN MAMDANI URGED TO SKIP NEW YORK CITY'S 9/11 MEMORIAL: 'VILE ANTISEMITE' "While normal Americans cry, commie Mamdani and AOC laugh it up at the 9/11 memorial in New York," Pratt said. "They hate you. They hate your country. They enjoy your misery. We cannot allow these people to h…