Prominent MAGA-aligned politicians and commentators launched Islamophobic attacks against Zohran Mamdani after the 33-year-old state lawmaker appeared to win the Democratic primary in the New York City mayoral race after former New York governor Andrew Cuomo conceded. If elected, Mamdani would become the first Indian-American and Muslim mayor in New York City’s history. US representative Marjorie Taylor Greene shared a post on X featuring a digitally altered image of the Statue of Liberty draped in a black burqa. MAGA supporter Don Keith re-shared the picture shared by Greene captioning it as, “Congratulations New York”. Another US representative, Nancy Mace, shared a picture of Mamdani in kurta pajamas, and wrote, “After 9/11 we said “Never Forget.” I think we sadly have forgotten.”Conservative social media personality Laura Loomer wrote, “New York City will be destroyed,” Muslims will start “committing jihad all over New York” and that “NYC is about to see 9/11 2.0.”“24 years ago a group of Muslims killed 2,753 people on 9/11,” conservative activist Charlie Kirk posted on X, referencing the number of people killed in New York. “Now a Muslim Socialist is on pace to run New York City.”“New York City has fallen,” Donald Trump Jr. wrote, quoting a post by Michael Malice about when New Yorkers “endured 9/11 instead of voting for it.”Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, secured 43.5 per cent of the first-choice votes in New York City’s ranked-choice voting system. Former governor Andrew Cuomo, who had been considered the frontrunner in the race, conceded to Mamdani on Tuesday night. However, the official results are not expected until early July, as the city’s Board of Elections continues to tabulate the ranked-choice ballots.Throughout the primary, some of Mamdani’s critics, including a super PAC (political action committee) supporting Cuomo, accused him of either encouraging antisemitism or expressing antisemitic views himself, particularly in relation to his position on Israel.Mamdani has been outspoken in criticizing Israel’s actions in Gaza. In a June interview with The Bulwark, he described the phrase “globalize the intifada” as a call for equality and Palestinian human rights, a remark that drew sharp criticism and highlighted tensions in a city with significant Muslim and Jewish communities.He has consistently rejected accusations of antisemitism, condemning acts of violence against Jews in the United States.“I’ve said at every opportunity that there is no room for antisemitism in this city, in this country,” he said at an emotional press conference in the closing days of the race, adding the reason he does not have a more “visceral reaction” to being labeled that is because it has “been colored by the fact that when I speak, especially when I speak with emotion, I am then characterized by those same rivals as being a monster.”Mamdani has openly criticized US President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Reacting to his win, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, “It’s finally happened, the Democrats have crossed the line. Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is on his way to becoming Mayor.”“We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous. He looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he’s not very smart, he’s got AOC+3, Dummies ALL, backing him, and even our Great Palestinian Senator, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, is grovelling over him. Yes, this is a big moment in the History of our Country!,” he added.Despite the recent backlash, it’s worth noting that the original concept for the Statue of Liberty was inspired by sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi’s sketches of veiled Egyptian women. Initially envisioned as a Muslim peasant woman holding a lantern to symbolize progress, the statue was meant for Egypt. After the proposal was rejected, Bartholdi reworked the design into a Roman-style goddess and gifted it to the US from France, symbolizing their alliance during the American and French revolution
