President Trump criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Sunday after they were seen laughing during a remembrance ceremony for 9/11 victims the previous Friday.
“I think it’s terrible,” Trump commented while leaving Shannon Airport in Ireland. “It’s not a place to be laughing, especially in that case.”
He went on to emphasize, “I thought it was terrible. The fact that they were laughing together at such an important part of the ceremony was inappropriate.”
The incident occurred as grieving family members were reading the names of those lost in the September 11 attacks, which sparked outrage among many conservatives and Republicans.
Meghan McCain, the former host of “The View” and daughter of the late Senator John McCain, expressed her disbelief on X, asking, “Why the f–k are these two laughing?!?”
Senator Ted Cruz from Texas echoed similar sentiments, questioning, “How the hell do you laugh while the names of those murdered on 9/11 are being read aloud? Why would you do so?”
A source indicated that the laughter between Mamdani and AOC came after the mayor found himself alone during the ceremony when several key officials, including Governor Kathy Hochul and Senator Chuck Schumer, left early. “Nobody wanted to be by him,” the source noted, calling the situation “awkward.”
Despite this, the source mentioned that Mamdani, attending the ceremony for the first time as mayor, did stay until the end and interacted with victims’ families. Still, they acknowledged that any moment perceived as inappropriate would be scrutinized.
“He doesn’t help his case,” the source commented, suggesting Mamdani’s associations don’t always reflect well on him.
Michael Ragusa, who oversaw security for former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, argued that the clip making the rounds was taken out of context.
“The camera just caught her greeting him hello. Multiple other politicians were laughing and joking behind me. Republicans and Democrats,” Ragusa posted on X. “And for the record, I am a lifelong Republican [sic] who has been very critical of these two.”
