OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
6:23 PM – Monday, October 27, 2025
Vice President JD Vance ignited a political firestorm after criticizing New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani for his comments about Islamophobia in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks — remarks that expressed sympathy solely for Muslims, while overlooking the Americans who perished in the attacks.
During a press conference on Friday at the Islamic Cultural Center of the Bronx, Mamdani shared a story about his “aunt” who, he claimed, stopped riding the NYC subway after 9/11 due to fear of harassment for wearing a hijab.
Mamdani reiterated that his aunt “did not feel safe in her hijab” while riding the subway at that time, and the Democratic socialist mayoral candidate also claimed that he only shared the story to highlight the fear and discrimination many Muslims endured following the attacks.
“I want to speak to the memory of my aunt, who stopped taking the subway after September 11 because she did not feel safe in her hijab,” he said. “My aunt did not feel safe in her hijab after 9/11 … She was stared at, whispered about, and made to feel like she didn’t belong. That is the reality for countless Muslim Americans.”
Vance took to X to denounce Mamdani’s remarks on Saturday, writing that “according to Zohran, the real victim of 9/11 was his auntie who got some (allegedly) bad looks.” His post quickly went viral.
However, The New York Post published an article soon after claiming that Mamdani had embellished details of his “aunt” story — reporting that the woman he referenced was actually his father’s second cousin, who neither lived in New York City at the time of the 9/11 attacks nor wore a hijab as described.
Mamdani’s only paternal aunt (his father’s sister, Masuma Mamdani) lived in Tanzania from 2000 to 2003, meaning she was not in NYC during or after 9/11 and does not wear a hijab — at least based on public photos and her professional biography as a reproductive health expert.
Additionally, his maternal aunts are Hindu, making the hijab detail inapplicable.
Nonetheless, Mamdani fired back at the GOP VP, accusing Vance of mocking experiences of “Islamophobia.” He also corrected his “story” and brushed off media reports disproving his narrative.
“This is all the Republican Party has to offer — cheap jokes about Islamophobia to avoid acknowledging what people are living through,” Mamdani said in a statement. “Our communities deserve empathy, not ridicule.”
“I was speaking about Zehra fuhi, my father’s cousin, who passed away a few years ago,” Mamdani told reporters after being asked about the discrepancies in his tale.
Many have continued to accuse Mamdani of embellishing his story for political clout, while his far-left supporters have continued to defend him, arguing that the underlying message about anti-Muslim prejudice remains valid despite the story’s details not adding up.
Despite the uproar, Mamdani’s campaign has shown no signs of retreating. “We will continue to speak about Islamophobia, because it’s part of the truth of post-9/11 America,” a campaign spokesperson said on Monday.
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