Republican senators are rallying behind the petition from families of 9/11 victims to block New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani from attending the 25th anniversary remembrance ceremony of the attacks at Ground Zero.
Several families of 9/11 victims launched an online petition calling on the National September 11 Memorial & Museum to not include Mamdani in the commemorative events honoring those who lost their lives in the terror attacks 25 years ago.
Fox News Digital asked senators on Capitol Hill about the efforts to ban Mamdani from attending the memorial, and whether it would be appropriate for him to show up given claims that the democratic socialist has failed to adequately condemn Islamic extremism.
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“It might be appropriate if he goes while wearing a paper bag over his head,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Fox News Digital.
“I mean I can’t defend anything that guy says or does,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said.
The petition cites eight specific concerns about Mamdani, including claims he has never directly condemned the phrase “globalize the intifada,” allegedly associating with extremist and anti-American individuals and claims that his beliefs are shaped by his father, who called for destigmatizing suicide bombers and drew comparisons between the United States and al-Qaeda.
“His opinions on America’s place in the world are pretty different than probably most of those families feel,” Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., told Fox News Digital.
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The families plea also points to claims of Mamdani praising and appointing people linked to radical Islam, his comments blaming the United States for the radicalization of al-Qaeda propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki and his recent endorsement of democratic socialist Darializa Aria Chevalier.
“He’s platformed Islamic extremism, and he openly supports Hamas, as does his wife,” Sheehy claimed. “And Hamas is not just an adjacent organization to all the other Muslim extremists, they’re one of the core members of it.”
Mamdani has taken fire from many GOP lawmakers over his refusal to call for Hamas to lay down its weapons during an interview last year, as well as for other claims of ties to Islamic extremism and alleging the NYC leader of antisemitism.
“Given these concerns, we respectfully ask that the organizers carefully consider whether Mr. Mamdanis participation would align with the intention of the ceremony and the expectations of the families most directly affect
