Zohran Mamdani called 'Hamas sympathizer' in Islamophobic attack, Trump ally says 'there will be another 9/11 in NYC'

Even before Indian-origin Zohran Mamdani's claimed decisive win in the first round of the New York city Democratic mayoral primary, he had become a target of racist attacks from the far right. A barrage of Islamophobic attacks- "Hamas terrorist sympathizer", "jihadist terrorist", calls for deportation and predictions of another 9/11- have been hurled at him on social media and conservative political circles following his stunning victory, according to multiple media reports.

The state assembly member, 33, a democratic socialist would become the first Muslim mayor of America’s largest city. He has been subjected to a barrage of death threats and xenophobic rhetoric from prominent Republican figures and online activists since his primary win became apparent.

These attacks have intensified with Republican elected officials and right-wing media figures accusing him of promoting Islamic law, supporting terrorism and posing a threat to the safety of New Yorkers, especially Jews, reports New York Times.


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Zohran Mamdani faces Islamophobic attacks

Right wing media and Republicans targeting Zohran Mamdani have seized on his immigrant background and Muslim faith. Far-right activist and White House whisperer Laura Loomer posted on X that “there will be another 9/11 in NYC” under Mamdani’s leadership. The New York City councilwoman Vickie Paladino described him as a “known jihadist terrorist” and “communist” in a radio interview, calling for his deportation despite his American citizenship.

Senior Trump administration figures and officials have also joined the call with White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and architect of mass deportations claiming: “NYC is the clearest warning yet of what happens to a society when it fails to control migration.” In a series of posts on X, Miller attributed the expected outcome of the primary to “unchecked migration.”

“The commentary about NYC Democrats nominating an anarchist-socialist for Mayor omits one point: how unchecked migration fundamentally remade the NYC electorate. Democrats change politics by changing voters. That’s how you turn a city that defined US dominance into what it is now,” Miller said in a post on the social platform X early Wednesday.

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“To understand the pace and scope of migration to America in past years, one-third of NYC is foreign-born and almost two-thirds of NYC children live in a foreign-born household,” he added in another post. “NYC is the clearest warning yet of what happens to a society when it fails to control migration,” Miller said in another post, which generated some pushback among more liberal X users.

The New York representative Elise Stefanik, Trump’s one-time pick for UN ambassador, sent fundraising emails branding Mamdani a “Hamas terrorist sympathizer” before the race was even called, according to The Guardian.

Donald Trump Jr amplified a post reading, “I’m old enough to remember when New Yorkers endured 9/11 instead of voting for it,” adding: “New York City has fallen.” Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene posted an AI-generated image of the Statue of Liberty draped in a burqa. On the other hand, conservative commentator Matt Walsh lamented on how the famously immigrant New York isn’t “an American city anymore” because of its population being 40% foreign-born.

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Trump calls Mamdani 'communist lunatic'

President Donald Trump also weighed in on Wednesday, calling Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” while criticizing his appearance and voice. Speaking on MSNBC about the attacks, Mamdani reflected on their broader impact: “I’ve spoken to many Muslims across this city who have shared that their fear of having to be essentially branded a terrorist just by living in public life is one that keeps them preferring life in the shadows, life outside of that specter. And this is not the way that we can have our city be. It’s not the way that we can have our country be.” Republicans have also called for deportation of Zohran Mamdani.