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 AWAYRep.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., left, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, right, laugh during the reading-of-names at the 9/11 Memorial.(Screenshot/Fox News)"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?" asked Meghan McCain, daughter of the late Sen.
John McCain, R-Ariz.FAMILIES OF 9/11 VICTIMS' MESSAGE TO MAMDANI: 'PLEASE DO NOT COME' TO MEMORIAL CEREMONYDemocratic nominee for mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks to reporters outside the Federal Jacob Javits Building in New York on Aug.7, 2025.
(Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)However, a top member of former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's entourage claimed on X 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...