![Zohran Mamdani: Embarrassment for NYC Mayoral Candidate after His Rap Video Is Played During Live Interview [WATCH]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdata.ibtimes.sg%2Fen%2Ffull%2F82218%2Fzohran-mamdani.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
Zohran Mamdani: Embarrassment for NYC Mayoral Candidate after His Rap Video Is Played During Live Interview [WATCH]
It was quite an embarrassment. Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani's 2019 rap video unexpectedly gained national attention on Thursday night during a cringe-worthy moment in a live CNN interview that visibly left the New York City mayoral candidate uncomfortable.
Mamdani was a guest on Erin Burnett OutFront, where the host kicked off his segment by playing the low-budget hip-hop video he released under the stage name "Mr. Cardamom," putting the 33-year-old progressive politician in an awkward spotlight. The Queens assemblyman winced and shifted uncomfortably as the video was played without his knowledge as he trying to brush off the embarrassing flashback to his short-lived rap career with a very shaky laugh.
In Discomfort Zone
"Once you do it, it's out there," Burnett said to Mamdani. "It's there. Didn't think it was going to be on CNN," Mamdani said through a wincing smile.
Burnett then challenged Mamdani, giving him the chance to respond to the critics who claim he's "not ready yet" to take on the role of New York City mayor.
"I would say a campaign offers a glimpse into what an administration would look like, and we built a campaign the likes of which the city has not seen in a long time," Mamdani replied, eliding over Mr. Cardamom's performance entirely.
Mamdani's mild political statements on Thursday were a stark contrast to the bold lyrics he once rapped under his stage name — some of which openly supported organizations that backed the terrorist group Hamas.
In his 2017 song "Holy Land Five," the Democratic mayoral hopeful praised five people associated with the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. These men, known as the "Holy Land Five," were convicted in 2008 for funneling over $12 million to Hamas.
Questionable Past Threat to Political Career
"My love to the Holy Land Five. You better look 'em up," Mamdani as Mr. Cardamom sang in a song called "Salam."
The five men — Shukri Abu Baker, Mohammad El-Mezain, Ghassan Elashi, Mufid Abdulqader, and Abdulrahman Odeh — were found guilty by the U.S. Justice Department on 108 charges, including providing material support to terrorism, tax evasion, and money laundering.
Mamdani, whose rap skills have drawn criticism, got a reality check from none other than New York rapper 50 Cent, who publicly offered the socialist candidate $258,000 to exit the mayoral race and permanently leave New York.
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International Business Times
7 hours ago
- International Business Times
Zohran Mamdani: Embarrassment for NYC Mayoral Candidate after His Rap Video Is Played During Live Interview [WATCH]
It was quite an embarrassment. Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani's 2019 rap video unexpectedly gained national attention on Thursday night during a cringe-worthy moment in a live CNN interview that visibly left the New York City mayoral candidate uncomfortable. Mamdani was a guest on Erin Burnett OutFront, where the host kicked off his segment by playing the low-budget hip-hop video he released under the stage name "Mr. Cardamom," putting the 33-year-old progressive politician in an awkward spotlight. The Queens assemblyman winced and shifted uncomfortably as the video was played without his knowledge as he trying to brush off the embarrassing flashback to his short-lived rap career with a very shaky laugh. In Discomfort Zone "Once you do it, it's out there," Burnett said to Mamdani. "It's there. Didn't think it was going to be on CNN," Mamdani said through a wincing smile. Burnett then challenged Mamdani, giving him the chance to respond to the critics who claim he's "not ready yet" to take on the role of New York City mayor. "I would say a campaign offers a glimpse into what an administration would look like, and we built a campaign the likes of which the city has not seen in a long time," Mamdani replied, eliding over Mr. Cardamom's performance entirely. Mamdani's mild political statements on Thursday were a stark contrast to the bold lyrics he once rapped under his stage name — some of which openly supported organizations that backed the terrorist group Hamas. In his 2017 song "Holy Land Five," the Democratic mayoral hopeful praised five people associated with the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. These men, known as the "Holy Land Five," were convicted in 2008 for funneling over $12 million to Hamas. Questionable Past Threat to Political Career "My love to the Holy Land Five. You better look 'em up," Mamdani as Mr. Cardamom sang in a song called "Salam." The five men — Shukri Abu Baker, Mohammad El-Mezain, Ghassan Elashi, Mufid Abdulqader, and Abdulrahman Odeh — were found guilty by the U.S. Justice Department on 108 charges, including providing material support to terrorism, tax evasion, and money laundering. Mamdani, whose rap skills have drawn criticism, got a reality check from none other than New York rapper 50 Cent, who publicly offered the socialist candidate $258,000 to exit the mayoral race and permanently leave New York.
International Business Times
7 hours ago
- International Business Times
Burqa-Clad Statue of Liberty Image Sparks Islamophobic Uproar After Zohran Mamdani's NYC Win
The victory of Zohran Mamdani—a democratic socialist of Indian Muslim heritage—in a key Democratic primary in New York City has become a lightning rod for controversy. As celebrations broke out among supporters, a very different reaction was brewing online. A digitally altered image of the Statue of Liberty wearing a black burqa began circulating across social media, igniting a storm of Islamophobic outrage. Mamdani, who secured 43.5% of first-choice votes through the city's ranked-choice voting system, is no stranger to backlash. But the reaction this time—driven largely by right-wing voices—has escalated into a symbolic attack on American identity itself. A digitally manipulated image of the Statue of Liberty draped in a black burqa has ignited a firestorm online after Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani won a closely watched primary election in New York City. The viral image surfaced as far-right commentators lashed out at Mamdani, a state assemblymember of Indian Muslim descent, who garnered 43.5% of first-choice votes under the city's ranked-choice system. Mamdani, the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair, has long been the target of Islamophobic rhetoric. Following his primary victory, the online backlash grew sharper, with conservative voices portraying his win as a symbol of declining American values. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene shared the image of the burqa-wearing statue, suggesting that it signified a cultural collapse. Donald Trump Jr. escalated tensions further, declaring on social media, "New York City has fallen," while invoking the 9/11 attacks to criticize Mamdani's success. Other far-right figures followed suit, branding New Yorkers as complicit in their own downfall and warning of an impending imposition of Islamic law. Yet the symbolism behind the viral image carries historical irony. The original design for the Statue of Liberty by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi was inspired by a veiled Egyptian woman titled Egypt Carrying the Light to Asia. Though the Egyptian project was rejected, Bartholdi repurposed the design into the Roman-robed figure that now stands in New York Harbor. Statue historian Barry Moreno emphasized that Bartholdi's early concept envisioned a Muslim woman as a beacon of enlightenment. "What was intended as mockery now unintentionally mirrors the statue's original form," he noted. On social media, however, hostility continued. Alarmist posts forecasted a dystopian future for New York, suggesting Mamdani's win heralded an era of Sharia law. "NYC in 2040: Obey or leave," read one viral post. Despite the vitriol, Mamdani remains focused on advancing progressive policies. Official results of the primary are expected in early July. In the meantime, the controversy has opened deeper questions around America's cultural symbols, historical memory, and ongoing struggles with religious pluralism.
Straits Times
7 hours ago
- Straits Times
US Supreme Court may rule on allowing enforcement of Trump birthright citizenship limits
FILE PHOTO: A general view of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, U.S., November 26, 2021. Picture taken November 26, 2021. REUTERS/Will Dunham/File photo WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court may rule on Friday on Donald Trump's attempt to broadly enforce his executive order to limit birthright citizenship, a move that would affect thousands of babies born each year as the Republican president seeks a major shift in how the U.S. Constitution has long been understood. The administration has made an emergency request for the justices to scale back injunctions issued by federal judges in Maryland, Washington and Massachusetts blocking Trump's directive nationwide. The judges found that Trump's order likely violates citizenship language in the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment. On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to refuse to recognize the citizenship of children born in the United States who do not have at least one parent who is an American citizen or lawful permanent resident, also called a "green card" holder. More than 150,000 newborns would be denied citizenship annually under Trump's directive, according to the plaintiffs who challenged it, including the Democratic attorneys general of 22 states as well as immigrant rights advocates and pregnant immigrants. The case before the Supreme Court was unusual in that the administration used it to argue that federal judges lack the authority to issue nationwide, or "universal," injunctions, and asked the justices to rule that way and enforce the president's directive even without weighing its legal merits. Federal judges have taken steps including issuing nationwide orders impeding Trump's aggressive use of executive action to advance his agenda. The plaintiffs argued that Trump's directive ran afoul of the 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868 in the aftermath of the Civil War of 1861-1865 that ended slavery in the United States. The 14th Amendment's citizenship clause states that all "persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside." The administration contends that the 14th Amendment, long understood to confer citizenship to virtually anyone born in the United States, does not extend to immigrants who are in the country illegally or even to immigrants whose presence is lawful but temporary, such as university students or those on work visas. In a June 11-12 Reuters/Ipsos poll, 24% of all respondents supported ending birthright citizenship and 52% opposed it. Among Democrats, 5% supported ending it, with 84% opposed. Among Republicans, 43% supported ending it, with 24% opposed. The rest said they were unsure or did not respond to the question. The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, has handed Trump some important victories on his immigration policies since he returned to office in January. On Monday, it cleared the way for his administration to resume deporting migrants to countries other than their own without offering them a chance to show the harms they could face. In separate decisions on May 30 and May 19, it let the administration end the temporary legal status previously given by the government to hundreds of thousands of migrants on humanitarian grounds. But the court on May 16 kept in place its block on Trump's deportations of Venezuelan migrants under a 1798 law historically used only in wartime, faulting his administration for seeking to remove them without adequate due process. The court heard arguments in the birthright citizenship dispute on May 15. U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer, representing the administration, told the justices that Trump's order "reflects the original meaning of the 14th Amendment, which guaranteed citizenship to the children of former slaves, not to illegal aliens or temporary visitors." An 1898 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a case called United States v. Wong Kim Ark long has been interpreted as guaranteeing that children born in the United States to non-citizen parents are entitled to American citizenship. Trump's administration has argued that the court's ruling in that case was narrower, applying to children whose parents had a "permanent domicile and residence in the United States." Universal injunctions have been opposed by presidents of both parties - Republican and Democratic - and can prevent the government from enforcing a policy against anyone, instead of just the individual plaintiffs who sued to challenge the policy. Proponents have said they are an efficient check on presidential overreach, and have stymied actions deemed unlawful by presidents of both parties. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
