New York City Council Member Vickie Paladino used two Fox News appearances this week to accuse Mayor Zohran Mamdani of sending a coded message to Osama bin Laden by attending New York’s 25th-anniversary 9/11 commemoration, while Mamdani himself appeared at the Ground Zero ceremony on Thursday, shook hands with former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and was captured on camera briefly smiling with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
What did Paladino say about Mamdani on Fox News?
Paladino, a Queens Republican, first spoke outside City Hall and then appeared on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” on Tuesday, September 9, telling host Laura Ingraham that Mamdani’s planned attendance at the anniversary ceremony amounted to a symbolic taunt. “It’s a message to Osama bin Laden that, look, ‘We conquered New York,'” Paladino said, according to multiple outlets that reviewed the segment, including Mediaite and BizPacReview. She separately told reporters at City Hall, “I am demanding that he not show his face at that sacred ground. He does not belong there,” citing Mamdani’s past association with commentator Hasan Piker. Paladino also criticized two executive orders Mamdani signed around the anniversary, one designating September 11 as an annual day of remembrance and service and another directing city agencies to review attack-preparedness measures, calling the signings a “total absolute farce.”
Paladino did not cite any evidence connecting Mamdani, who is Muslim, to the September 11 attacks or to bin Laden, and reporters covering the remarks noted the claim was made without supporting evidence. Mayor Mamdani has previously addressed comments from Paladino and other Republican officials at a separate public event, saying such remarks were dehumanizing to Muslim New Yorkers and citing a recent attack on a 12-year-old Muslim girl in the city. City Council Speaker Julie Menin also weighed in after earlier remarks from Paladino, writing on social media, “This Islamophobic rhetoric is deeply offensive. I condemn it in the strongest terms.” Paladino has separately faced a City Council ethics charge over past social media posts, according to Gothamist and QNS.
@IngrahamAngle pic.twitter.com/r39U8tm3By
— Councilwoman Vickie Paladino (@CMvpaladino) September 9, 2026
What happened when Mamdani attended the ceremony?
Mamdani did attend the 25th-anniversary commemoration at the National September 11 Memorial in lower Manhattan on Thursday. Before the ceremony began, he walked up to Giuliani, who had publicly said before the event that Mamdani should not attend, and shook his hand. Giuliani later told reporters he told the mayor, “I’ll pray for you. It’s a really tough job,” and that Mamdani replied, “Thank you.” Giuliani said he chose to shake hands rather than create a distraction during the solemn program, according to accounts published by The Hill and Mediaite.
Mamdani shakes hands with Rudy Giuliani at NYC 9/11 memorial ceremony https://t.co/RjAbWP1nFj pic.twitter.com/3v7svlkywr
— New York Post (@nypost) September 11, 2026
Separately, video from the ceremony showed Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez standing together and smiling during the reading of victims’ names, footage that circulated widely online and drew criticism from some elected officials and commentators, including coverage by Fox News and the Washington Times. Michael Ragusa, an aide to Giuliani who also attended the ceremony, disputed the characterization of the moment, telling reporters, “The camera just caught her greeting him hello,” and noting that Mamdani “stayed for every name and even stayed after to talk to families for 45 minutes.” Ocasio-Cortez’s office and Mamdani’s office did not immediately dispute that the brief exchange occurred, but both aides and other attendees described it as a passing greeting rather than sustained laughter, according to The New Republic and CNN’s review of the video.
Zohran Mamdani and AOC spotted laughing at 9/11 ceremony while victims' families weep during reading of names https://t.co/68fZncdV7d pic.twitter.com/mZ3gOM2Y95
— New York Post (@nypost) September 11, 2026
Sources: Mediaite · The Hill · CNN · The New Republic · Gothamist
