A four-second clip from New York’s ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks has ignited a political storm after Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were filmed smiling and speaking while the names of victims were being read aloud.
The footage, taken from a broadcast of Friday’s ceremony at Ground Zero, shows Mamdani standing beside Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive Democratic congresswoman widely known as AOC, as the two briefly talk and smile. Moments earlier, the broadcast had shown a young man crying beside the memorial, and the abrupt transition between the images quickly drew criticism from conservative politicians and commentators.
Four seconds that sparked uproar: Mamdani and AOC at 9/11 ceremony
(Video: C-SPAN)
The ceremony lasted roughly four hours, and their conversation could not be heard. Michael Ragusa, who previously served as security chief for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, said the suggestion that the pair had been laughing during the ceremony was misleading. He said he had been standing near them and that Ocasio-Cortez was simply greeting Mamdani.
“The camera just caught her greeting him hello,” Ragusa wrote on X. “Multiple other politicians were laughing and joking behind me. Republicans and Democrats.”
Footage from other portions of the ceremony showed Mamdani standing silently with a serious expression.
CNN reported that it had contacted representatives for Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez for comment. The brief interaction nevertheless prompted a fierce online debate, with Republicans accusing the two New York Democrats of behaving inappropriately during the solemn ceremony and others arguing that the viral clip stripped the moment of its context.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz shared the footage, writing: “How the hell do you laugh while the names of those murdered on 9/11 are being read aloud?”
Former New York State Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou, who also attended the ceremony, dismissed the criticism as “ridiculous talking points.”
Niou noted that many politicians do not remain for the entire ceremony, while Mamdani “stayed for every name and even stayed after to talk to families for 45 minutes.” Ocasio-Cortez also remained until the end, she said, adding that the brief interaction occurred when the congresswoman approached Mamdani to say hello.
Niou, who said she has attended the Ground Zero ceremony every year for a decade, also pushed back on the suggestion that attendees remain visibly grief-stricken throughout the hourslong event.
“My friends and neighbors are not crying for 6 hours straight,” she wrote. “We are greeting each other, hugging each other, laughing at the memories and the jokes the families tell remembering their loved ones.”
Conservative television personality Meghan McCain, daughter of the late Republican Sen. John McCain, was among those criticizing the footage, asking on social media why the two were laughing.
Mamdani and Giuliani
(Photo: Barry Williams / POOL / AFP)
The controversy came during an already politically charged anniversary for Mamdani, New York City’s first Muslim mayor.
Before the ceremony began, Mamdani approached Giuliani, who led New York during the September 11 attacks, and the two shook hands. The encounter drew attention because Giuliani had only days earlier said Mamdani’s presence at the memorial offended him and compared the mayor to the September 11 hijackers.
Aides said Mamdani and Giuliani “exchanged pleasantries,” with Giuliani telling the current mayor that running New York was a difficult job. A Giuliani representative later said the former mayor told Mamdani he was praying for him.
Asked afterward what the two had discussed, Mamdani declined to elaborate.
“He came over and we both extended our hands and exchanged pleasantries,” Mamdani said, according to remarks released by his office. “I think the focus for all of us is a focus on the families, a focus on first responders and to be here and hear the names of all those who were stolen from us 25 years ago and how the families have persevered through that time.”
Later Friday, Mamdani spoke at an interfaith memorial service at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine, which was destroyed in the September 11 attacks and later rebuilt.
“Those who attacked our city, they did so because they thought they could break us at the fractures,” Mamdani said. “They thought they could frighten us, they could make us feel alone, they could leave us on our knees.”
“How wrong they were. How quick we were to stand back up.”