Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani criticized current Mayor Zohran Mamdani's decision to attend this week's 9/11 memorial ceremony, claiming it offends him because of Mamdani's Muslim faith. Giuliani made these remarks during an interview with Newsmax and accused Mamdani of concealing his views on Islam. The controversy comes as New York prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, with Mamdani scheduled to attend a dozen memorial events. An online petition urging Mamdani to skip the ceremony had collected nearly 100,000 signatures.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is criticizing current Mayor Zohran Mamdani for planning to attend the 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York City. Giuliani, who was mayor when the September 11 attacks took place in 2001, says it "offends" him that Mamdani, a Muslim, will be attending the ceremony. Giuliani made these comments during an interview with Newsmax and also compared Mamdani's faith to the ideology of the September 11 hijackers. Mamdani has rejected calls to stay away from the ceremony, saying he will attend to honor the families of those killed and the first responders affected by the attacks. The two mayors are expected to be in attendance at the ceremony on Friday, which marks the 25th anniversary of the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
Written for “Giuliani Criticizes 9/11 Memorial Guest” on 2026-09-08,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
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Leaning score +0.85 for article 7034 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-08
Former New York Mayor
Rudy Giuliani has said current Mayor
Zohran Mamdani should not attend this week’s 9/11 memorial ceremony, criticising the Muslim mayor’s decision to take part in the commemoration.
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Mamdani → say → commemoration
Giuliani made the remarks during an interview with Newsmax.
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Giuliani → make → Newsmax
“Having lost friends there and being very close to many of the families, it offends me that he’s coming,” he said.
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he → lose → me
Giuliani was mayor when the
September 11 attacks took place in 2001 and is expected to attend Friday’s ceremony.
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attacks → take → ceremony
Mamdani has rejected calls to stay away.
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Mamdani → reject → calls
He said he would attend the main ceremony and several other events to honour the families of those killed and the first responders affected by the attacks.
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he → say → attacks
“I’m proud to be the mayor of this city.
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I → ’m → city
I love this city.
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I → love → city
I love this country,” Mamdani said on Monday.
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Mamdani → love → Monday
Giuliani also compared Mamdani’s Muslim faith with the ideology of the September 11 hijackers and accused him of concealing his views.
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Giuliani → compare → views
He further claimed, without evidence, that Mamdani supports efforts to make Islam the dominant religion in parts of the United States and Europe.
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Islam → claim → States
The former mayor’s comments come as New York prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.
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which → come → people
The main ceremony at the World Trade Center site will include the reading of the victims’ names by relatives and survivors.
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ceremony → include → relatives
Mamdani was nine years old and living in New York when the attacks occurred.
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attacks → live → York
He has previously spoken about the Islamophobic backlash in an interview with The New York Times, it made anti-Muslim prejudice “a fact of life” for Muslim Americans.
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prejudice → speak → Americans
“It was this horrific day that was also for many New Yorkers the moment at which they were marked ‘other,” he said.
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he → mark → which
Last week, Mamdani signed executive orders designating September 11 as an annual “Citywide Day of Remembrance and Service” and establishing a task force to strengthen the city’s emergency preparedness.
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Mamdani → sign → preparedness
His schedule includes about a dozen memorial events, including visits to firehouses whose firefighters died in the attacks or later became ill after working at Ground Zero.
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firefighters → include → Zero
Giuliani served as mayor from 1994 to 2001 and became a nationally recognised figure for his response to the attacks.
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Giuliani → serve → attacks
He later became a close ally and personal attorney to Donald Trump.
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He → become → Trump
An online petition urging Mamdani to skip the ceremony had collected nearly 100,000 signatures.
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petition → urge → signatures
Former New York governor George Pataki has also opposed Mamdani’s attendance.
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Pataki → oppose → attendance
Former presidents Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama are expected at Friday’s commemorations.
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presidents → expect → commemorations
Vice-President JD Vance is expected to represent the White House in New York, while Trump is scheduled to mark the anniversary at the Pentagon.
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Trump → expect → Pentagon
