Rudy Giuliani says Zohran Mamdani should skip 9/11 memorial ceremony

A sharp political conflict has emerged ahead of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani demands that current Mayor Zohran Mamdani skip the memorial ceremonies. Giuliani leveled baseless, anti-Muslim conspiracy theories against Mamdani, comparing him to the 9/11 hijackers. While some conservative figures and an online petition with nearly 100,000 signatures oppose Mamdani's attendance, Governor Kathy Hochul and the September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows group have strongly defended the mayor. Mamdani has confirmed he will attend to honor the victims and first responders.

Giuliani demands Mamdani skip ceremony

• ▪Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani stated during a Newsmax interview that current Mayor Zohran Mamdani should skip the 25th-anniversary September 11 memorial ceremonies.
• ▪New York Governor Kathy Hochul defended Mayor Zohran Mamdani's attendance, stating it would be insulting to the vast majority of families if the mayor did not attend.
• ▪Rudy Giuliani stated that Mayor Zohran Mamdani's planned attendance at the September 11 memorial ceremonies offends him because Giuliani lost friends in the 2001 attacks.
• ▪Former New York Governor George Pataki and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman also voiced opposition to Mayor Zohran Mamdani attending the September 11 memorial.

Anti-Muslim conspiracy theory claims

• ▪Rudy Giuliani made baseless claims on Newsmax comparing Mayor Zohran Mamdani to the September 11 hijackers, asserting Mamdani is trying to hide his hostility to America.
• ▪Rudy Giuliani asserted during his Newsmax appearance that all of the Muslims Mayor Zohran Mamdani supports are murderers.
• ▪Rudy Giuliani claimed without evidence that Mayor Zohran Mamdani supports a global Muslim plot aimed at taking over and dominating parts of America and Europe.

Mamdani confirms memorial attendance

• ▪Mayor Zohran Mamdani confirmed on September 7, 2026, that he will attend the main September 11 memorial ceremony and multiple related events to honor victims and first responders.
• ▪Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his office declined to respond directly to Rudy Giuliani's remarks regarding his attendance at the September 11 memorial.
• ▪Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed two executive orders designating September 11 as an annual Citywide Day of Remembrance and Service and establishing an emergency preparedness taskforce.

Petition from 9/11 families

• ▪Conservative critics have opposed Mayor Zohran Mamdani's attendance due to his appointment of Ramzi Kassem, who previously represented a relative of a September 11 hijacker, as chief legal counsel.
• ▪The advocacy group September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, representing roughly 250 family members of victims, issued a statement defending Mayor Zohran Mamdani's participation.
• ▪An online petition demanding that Mayor Zohran Mamdani skip the September 11 memorial ceremonies has gathered nearly 100,000 signatures.

Giuliani's post-9/11 legacy decline

• ▪Following Donald Trump's return to the White House, the president issued a federal pardon for Rudy Giuliani and announced he would award him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
• ▪Rudy Giuliani, widely praised for his leadership after the September 11 attacks, subsequently faced disbarment, criminal indictments in Arizona and Georgia, and a $148 million defamation judgment.