Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Prominent MAGA-aligned commentators launched xenophobic attacks on Zohran Mamdani over the 33-year-old state lawmaker\u2019s Muslim religion following his apparent Democratic primary win in the New York City mayoral race.<\/p>\n
In a series of posts, conservative social media personality Laura Loomer wrote \u201cNew York City<\/a> will be destroyed,\u201d Muslims will start \u201ccommitting jihad<\/a> all over New York\u201d and that \u201cNYC is about to see<\/a> 9\/11 2.0.\u201d<\/p>\n If elected in November, Mamdani would become the first Muslim mayor in New York City\u2019s history. And while many conservatives have criticized Mamdani\u2019s progressive policies, others have taken aim at Mamdani for his religion.<\/p>\n \u201c24 years ago a group of Muslims killed 2,753 people on 9\/11,\u201d conservative activist Charlie Kirk posted on X<\/a>, referencing the number of people killed in New York. \u201cNow a Muslim Socialist is on pace to run New York City.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNew York City has fallen,\u201d Donald Trump Jr. wrote, quoting<\/a> a post by Michael Malice<\/a> about when New Yorkers \u201cendured 9\/11 instead of voting for it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAfter 9\/11 we said \u2018Never Forget.\u2019 I think we sadly have forgotten,\u201d Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) posted on X Wednesday<\/a>, accompanied by a photo of Mamdani.<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the statements.<\/p>\n Mamdani, a democratic socialist, won 43.5 percent<\/a> of first-place votes in New York\u2019s ranked-choice voting system. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the once-favorite to take the primary, conceded to Mamdani Tuesday night. However, the city board of elections is not expected to finalize results until early July<\/a>, once ranked-choice votes are tabulated.<\/p>\n During the primary some of Mamdani’s critics, including a super PAC backing Cuomo, said he either emboldens antisemitism<\/a> or has himself espoused antisemitic views, in particular over his stance on Israel.<\/p>\n He has repeatedly criticized Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza, and in a June interview<\/a> with The Bulwark, Mamdani said the phrase \u201cglobalize the intifada\u201d represented \u201ca desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights.\u201d Mamdani drew heavy criticism for the statement, marking a tension point in a primary election in a city with large populations of Muslim and Jewish residents.<\/p>\n He has repeatedly pushed back against the antisemitism label, decrying violence against Jews in the country.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve said at every opportunity that there is no room for antisemitism in this city, in this country,\u201d he said at an emotional press conference in the closing days of the race<\/a>, adding the reason he does not have a more \u201cvisceral reaction\u201d to being labeled that is because it has \u201cbeen 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.\u201d<\/p>\n At the same press conference, he said he has faced significant attacks because of his religion.<\/p>\n \u201cI get messages that say, \u2018The only good Muslim is a dead Muslim.\u2019 I get threats on my life, on the people that I love. And I try not to talk about it,\u201d he said at that press conference.<\/p>\n