President Trump’s right-wing supporters have hit Zohran Mamdani with a barrage of Islamophobic hate since he stunned the political world Tuesday night by winning the Democratic primary for New York City mayor.
MAGA loyalists have claimed that Mamdani might impose religious Sharia law in the Big Apple or even spark terrorism like the Sept. 11 attacks if he becomes the city’s first-ever Muslim mayor.
“NYC is about to see 9/11 2.0,” right-wing media figure Laura Loomer tweeted, adding in another post: “There will be another 9/11 in NYC and [Zohran Mamdani] will be to blame.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) posted a fake photo-shopped image of the Statue of Liberty draped in a burqa, the covering worn by some observant Muslim women.
“This hits hard,” Green tweeted.
Presidential son Donald Trump Jr. reposted a tweet claiming “New Yorkers (voted) for 9/11” adding: “New York has fallen.”
Stephen Miller, the hardline deputy White House chief of staff, blamed Mamdani’s win on unchecked immigration.
“NYC is the clearest warning yet of what happens to a society when it fails to control migration,” he tweeted after Mamdani’s win.
Anti-Islamophobia advocates called the bigoted attacks typical of what American Muslims in public life have come to expect.
“The politicians, influencers and hate groups unleashing a wave of irrational Islamophobic talking points are weaponizing the same tactics that have been used for decades to manipulate Americans into fearing any Muslims engaged in political life,” said Corey Saylor of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Mamdani, 33, has spoken openly about being the subject of Islamophobic hate speech before and during the breakthrough primary campaign that catapulted him into the national spotlight.
He said in one of his first national interviews after his victory that he hopes his campaign can help Muslim New Yorkers worship as they choose and wear their faith as a badge of honor in the most diverse city in the world.
“I’ve spoken to many Muslims across this city who have shared 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,” he said in an interview on MSNBC. “This is not the way that we can have our city be. It’s not the way that we can have our country be.”
Trump himself has trashed Mamdani as “a 100% communist lunatic” but so far has refrained from attacking him for his faith.
“We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous,” Trump wrote on his social media site. “He looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he’s not very smart.”
Trump has not yet endorsed anyone in the November general election.
He has spoken highly of Mayor Eric Adams, who is running against Mamdani as an independent. His Justice Department dropped the corruption case against Adams in an effort to force Hizzoner to join his crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
Some conservatives and big-money donors had rallied behind ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mamdani’s main opponent in the primary. But Cuomo appears to be unlikely to mount an independent run in the fall after being clobbered by Mamdani this week.
Republican Curtis Sliwa is another obvious choice for Trump fans to rally behind in the November vote, although he performed poorly in the 2021 general election, winning just 27% in a one-sided matchup with Adams.
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