Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Planned Attendance at the 25th-Anniversary 9/11 Ceremony Sparks Political Clash

The city’s 25th-anniversary commemoration of the September 11, 2001 attacks, scheduled for September 11, has become a flashpoint. A petition signed by more than 85,000 relatives of victims asked the National September 11 Memorial & Museum to bar Mayor Zohran Mamdani, citing his positions on Israel. Former Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, who lost to Mamdani in the 2025 race, called the opposition “ridiculous.”

Newsweek

Mamdani’s victory in the 2025 mayoral election marked a rapid rise for the progressive Democrat, whose citywide favorability now sits at 69 percent according to Siena Research. The former rivalry with Sliwa, once marked by sharp attacks on public-safety and immigration policies, has softened; the two have appeared together in a comedy sketch and Sliwa publicly defended Mamdani’s right to attend the ceremony.

Newsweek

Mamdani reiterated his intention to stand alongside 9/11 families, emphasizing that the ceremony should focus on remembrance, not politics. Sliwa’s brief comment labeled the critics’ calls as “ridiculous.” Senators Tim Sheehy and Deb Fischer accused Mamdani, without presenting evidence, of “platforming Islamic extremism” and “saying pretty disgusting things.”

Newsweek

She argued the focus should remain on the victims rather than who is present.

Newsweek

• “I would equate this to a wake. You don't go to a wake if you're not welcome,” — Bruce Blakeman

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• “Mayor Mamdani has assured 9/11 families that he wants to be there to honor our loved ones, and I think he should be allowed to do that.” — Elizabeth Miller

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