De Niro calls controversial Mamdani police comments 'ridiculous' as he defends mayor going to 9/11 service
As New York City prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, a deepening rift over Mayor Zohran Mamdani's attendance at Friday's memorial ceremony has drawn sharp reactions from figures across the political spectrum — including one of the city's most recognizable residents.
Actor Robert De Niro, long known for his progressive politics, said in an interview published Thursday that he believes Mamdani should nonetheless appear at the remembrance event at the World Trade Center site. When asked directly whether the mayor belonged there, De Niro was unambiguous.
"I don't see why he shouldn't come," De Niro said. "He's the mayor. I haven't heard him say or do anything yet that would disqualify him from being there. Maybe I'm naive, but you have to give the guy a chance. He's not a part of what happened."
De Niro acknowledged the sensitivities at play, noting that some families of victims have legitimate reasons for their discomfort. "I understand their pain, but I still think he should be there," he added. He attributed some of the friction to Mamdani's tensions with the fire department and his past remarks about policing, saying, "I think this stems from tension he's had with the fire department and the comments about defund the police, which I don't think he really meant."
But De Niro did not walk back the substance of those comments entirely. "Well he did say it. And, of course, it's ridiculous," De Niro said. "You can't defund the police. It's not going to happen. But I still think he should be at the memorial." He suggested the event could serve as an opportunity for Mamdani to use the occasion "as a bridge" to bring people together.
The interview also touched on national politics, where De Niro offered a far more pointed critique of President Donald Trump. "We have to stop him. It's insane. We have to send people to voting booths and make sure they can go in. Just watch to keep them safe. It's crazy we're here, but this is where we are. We have to protect our elections."
Mamdani's attendance at the ceremony is not universally welcomed. An online petition spearheaded by family members of those killed on September 11 has gathered more than 100,000 signatures calling on the mayor to stay away. The petition highlights a series of associations and statements that critics say make his presence at the memorial inappropriate. It notes that Mamdani has praised Brooklyn Imam Siraj Wahhaj, who has been linked to radical Islam, was named as an alleged co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and served as a character witness for Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman — convicted in 1995 of plotting terror attacks against the United States.
The petition also points to Mamdani's endorsement of candidate Aber Kawas, who described the September 11 attacks as something "a couple of people did in the context of U.S. capitalism, racism, White supremacy, and Islamophobia," and who expressed sympathy for Ahmed Ferhani, who pleaded guilty to plotting to detonate a bomb at a Manhattan synagogue.
Further scrutiny has focused on Mamdani's ties to far-left activist Hasan Piker, who stated that the United States "deserved" the attacks. Although Piker retracted those remarks at the time, critics say they continue to cast a shadow over his political circle. Mamdani has publicly condemned Piker's comments.
Another point of contention involves Mamdani's decision to present a ceremonial pen from a 9/11 remembrance ceremony to his chief counsel, Ramzi Kassem. Kassem previously represented Ahmed al-Darbi, a Guantánamo Bay detainee who pleaded guilty to war crime charges tied to al Qaeda plots against commercial ships. Al-Darbi was the brother-in-law of Khalid al-Mihdhar, one of the hijackers aboard American Airlines Flight 77, which struck the Pentagon and killed 184 people.
Several commentators and policy figures have pushed back against De Niro's defense of Mamdani, arguing that the actor is overlooking significant aspects of the mayor's record.
Rafael Mangual, who leads research for the Manhattan Institute's Policing & Public Safety Initiative, said he did not share De Niro's dismissal of the calls for Mamdani to skip the ceremony. "As a rapper, Mamdani praised the Holy Land Five, a group convicted of providing material support to Hamas, an Islamist terrorist organization," Mangual said, adding that during the campaign Mamdani posed for a photo with Wahhaj and associated with Piker, who praised the mujahideen for attacking then-Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw. Mangual also noted that as mayor, Mamdani hired Kassem as his chief legal counsel despite the attorney's pro bono representation of a convicted al Qaeda operative. "When coupled with his vitriolic criticisms of the very institutions tasked with keeping us safe from terrorist threats, the wishes of the families De Niro was asked about become much harder to ignore," Mangual said.
Mary Marslender, a former Trump appointee and Republican consultant, argued that Mamdani cannot easily shed his record on policing. "Mamdani has spent years portraying New York's brave first responders as the problem, and Robert De Niro knows that. Mamdani ran for mayor on a platform of defunding the police, only walking back his stance for political gain — not out of genuine conviction," she said. Marslender also noted that Mamdani has declined to condemn the phrase "globalize the intifada," which she said is closely associated with the spirit of the September 11 attacks.
Elizabeth Pipko, the former national spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, took aim at De Niro personally. "Robert De Niro is again showing his privilege and ignorance," she said. "He has decided because he aligns politically with Mamdani, he will defend him without knowing the facts. Similarly, he will attack Trump, even when discussing 9/11, because he dislikes him, again without knowing any facts." Pipko said she would welcome a moment in which De Niro was confronted with the specifics of Mamdani's record.
Entertainment commentator Christian Toto accused The Hollywood Reporter of promoting De Niro's political commentary without sufficient scrutiny. "The Hollywood Reporter eggs on Robert De Niro, sans fact checking, because it agrees with most of what he says," Toto told Fox News Digital. He argued that De Niro was unaware of the details of Mamdani's past associations and that the actor had become "a useful idiot for the left."
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani's office for comment but did not immediately receive a response. The controversy underscores the broader tensions surrounding this year's remembrance ceremonies, as political divisions over the mayor's record threaten to overshadow what has traditionally been a day of national reflection and mourning.