Brief interaction between NYC Mayor Mamdani and AOC captured on video at 9/11 ceremony stirs up debate

By Emma Tucker, CNN

(CNN) — A brief interaction between New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez captured on video Friday during a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the terror attacks on September 11, 2001, sparked fierce criticism that was met with pushback from those who say the video was taken out of context.

The clip of Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez at Ground Zero lasted four seconds in the live video feed, which transitioned between multiple camera angles of the ceremony.

They were seen greeting each other with smiles while the names of the victims of the attacks on the World Trade Center were being read aloud. There is no audio in the video feed of their interaction.

CNN has reached out to representatives for Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez for comment.

Their exchange has prompted debate around the moment, with some Republicans criticizing the two New York Democrats for what they called inappropriate laughter and others saying that characterization is false.

The former head of security for Rudy Giuliani – who was the city’s mayor during the terror attacks – said videos of the two leaders “laughing are not true.”

Michael Ragusa wrote on social media he was standing next to Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez for the entire ceremony.

“The camera just caught her greeting him hello. Multiple other politicians were laughing and joking behind me. Republicans and Democrats,” Ragusa said on X.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz reposted the video clip on X, saying, “How the hell do you laugh while the names of those murdered on 9/11 are being read aloud?”

Another attendee, former Democratic New York State Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou, condemned the criticism as “ridiculous talking points.”

She noted most politicians don’t stay for the duration of the ceremony, but Mamdani “stayed for every name and even stayed after to talk to families for 45 minutes.”

Ocasio-Cortez also stayed until the end, Niou wrote on X, adding the brief interaction with Mamdani “was just when she walked up to him and said hello.”

Another criticism came from Meghan McCain, conservative television personality and daughter of the late Republican Sen. John McCain. “Why the f**k are these two laughing?!?” she wrote on X.

Niou, however, said she has attended the Ground Zero ceremony every year for the past decade, adding: “My friends and neighbors are not crying for 6 hours straight.”

“We are greeting each other, hugging each other, laughing at the memories and the jokes the families tell remembering their loved ones,” Niou said.

In the moments before the ceremony began, Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, walked over to Giuliani to shake his hand at the Ground Zero ceremony.

The brief moment was also caught by cameras and reaction was swift on social media, with some praising Mamdani for showing grace to the man who just a few days prior had compared him to 9/11 hijackers and said his presence at the memorial ceremony would be offensive.

Aides to the mayor said Mamdani and Giuliani “exchanged pleasantries,” and that Giuliani told Mamdani that the job of being mayor was hard.

Friday’s exchange appeared to offer a brief pause on the political rancor of the past weeks.

An aide to Giuliani said the former mayor told Mamdani he was “praying for him.”

Speaking briefly with reporters after the event, Mamdani declined to share what the former mayor had said to him.

“He came over and we both extended our hands and exchanged pleasantries,” Mamdani said, according to remarks shared 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. I am truly in awe of all that these families have given us.”

Mamdani has faced partisan rancor around his attendance at the ceremony for weeks.

Giuliani previously said Mamdani attending the commemoration “offends” him, while George Pataki, state governor during the disaster, said Mamdani should stay away. Bruce Blakeman, a candidate for governor, had vowed to turn his back on the mayor if he turns up.

Later in the day after attending the ceremony, Mamdani spoke at an interfaith memorial service at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine, the only house of worship that was destroyed on 9/11.

Mamdani recalled the resiliency of New Yorkers in the aftermath of the tragedy as he spoke. “Those who attacked our city, they did so because they thought they could break us at the fractures,” he said.

“They thought they could frighten us. They could make us feel alone. They could leave us on our knees,” Mamdani said. “How wrong they were. How quick we were to stand back up.”

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CNN’s Gloria Pazmino and Elise Hammond contributed to this report.