WATCH: Mamdani Confronted About 9/11 Families Demanding He Be Banned from Sacred 25th Anniversary Ceremony, He Defiantly Vows to Attend Anyway

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was questioned on Monday about a growing campaign by families of September 11 victims seeking to keep him away from the upcoming 25th anniversary commemorations at Ground Zero.

The radical Democrat’s expected appearance has drawn controversy due to his long record of associations with figures who have minimized the deadliest terror attack on American soil.

The confrontation came during a press conference where Mamdani announced a 30 percent discount at five new municipal grocery stores, when a reporter asked him directly about the effort by survivors and relatives to exclude him from the solemn events marking the 2001 al-Qaeda attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

“Mr. Mayor, there was a number of people who are survivors of 9/11 are calling on you not to go to 9/11 memorial services. I wonder how you feel about the fact that they’re trying to keep you away,” the reporter asked.

Mamdani responded by declaring, “I will proudly honor the families, the survivors, the first responders, forever impacted by that horrific terror attack by standing alongside them at this year’s 9/11 commemoration, reaffirming that we will never forget the solemn day felt by all of us who call this city home and, frankly, by all of us who call this country home.”

WATCH:

Reporter: “There was a number of people who are survivors of 9/11 are calling on you not to go to 9/11 memorial services. I wonder how you feel about the fact that they’re trying to keep you away.”

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani: “I will proudly honor the families, the survivors, the… pic.twitter.com/l8PuFc40KA

— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) July 27, 2026

A New York Post report published Sunday under the front-page headline “STAY AWAY,” detailed how relatives of the victims view the city’s first Muslim mayor as an “unwelcome guest” whose presence would insult the memory of those murdered.

Giovanni Galante, whose 29-year-old wife Grace Catherine Galante was killed in the attacks, has led the charge, stating, “Our objection is based on his public record — his failure to meaningfully acknowledge the horror of that day, and his employment of, support for, or association with individuals who have minimized 9/11, defended terrorists, or even suggested America ‘deserved’ the attacks.”

Galante added that the day “is sacred to us. It is not political, and it is not a platform for those connected to such views. His presence would be deeply hurtful and inappropriate — like an unwelcome guest at a deeply personal ceremony.”

Cheri Sparacio, who lost her husband Thomas, called Mamdani’s potential attendance “disrespectful,” citing among other issues his longtime alliance with left-wing influencer Hasan Piker, who once declared that “America deserved” the September 11 attacks, as well as Mamdani’s own framing of Muslims as victims of post-9/11 “Islamophobia.”

Monica Iken-Murphy, whose husband Michael was killed and who helped found the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, emphasized that the event should prioritize families and those involved in the healing process from the beginning, without adding discomfort.

Families and supporters have organized a Change.org petition urging the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and city officials to bar Mamdani from the ceremony, which has already surpassed 15,000 signatures, including more than 300 from verified victims’ relatives.

The petition highlights Mamdani’s perceived reluctance to unequivocally condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” his praise for Brooklyn Imam Siraj Wahhaj, an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing who once urged followers to prepare for jihad, and his appointment of Ramzi Kassem as city chief counsel, a lawyer who previously defended an al-Qaeda operative convicted in a tanker bombing plot.

It further notes Mamdani’s past social media defenses of Anwar al-Awlaki, the al-Qaeda propagandist linked to the 9/11 hijackers, in which he blamed America for radicalizing the cleric; his endorsements of candidates like Aber Kawas, who described 9/11 as something “a couple of people did” amid “U.S. capitalism, racism, white supremacy, and Islamophobia”; and the writings of his father, Columbia professor Mahmood Mamdani, who argued shortly after the attacks that suicide bombers should be “understood as a feature of modern political violence rather than stigmatized as a mark of barbarism.”

The petition states, in part:

For 9/11 families, this is not simply a public ceremony—it is a deeply personal day of mourning. The presence of individuals whose words or associations are perceived as conflicting with the solemn purpose of the event risks detracting from that focus and causing additional pain.

Given these concerns, we respectfully ask that the organizers carefully consider whether Mr. Mamdani’s participation would align with the intention of the ceremony and the expectations of the families most directly affected by the tragedy.

A spokesperson for the 9/11 Memorial & Museum told The Post that the nonprofit has “intentionally worked to keep the commemoration free of politics because remembering those we lost on 9/11 should never be a partisan issue,” noting that officials typically attend only to bear witness without delivering remarks.

Mamdani spokesperson Jeremy Edwards confirmed to the paper that the mayor intends to attend anyway and that he will “proudly honor the families, survivors and first responders forever impacted by these devastating attacks by standing alongside them.”