Latest news with #D-NY
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- First Post
Phone jammers, masked guards: Why Zohran Mamdani's lavish Uganda wedding bash is receiving flak
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, is facing backlash over his three-day wedding celebrations with artist Rama Duwaji at his family's lavish compound in Uganda last week. As per reports, the property had tight security, with around nine masked guards watching one gate. The Indian-origin politician's festivities, however, have sparked anger. Here's why read more New York mayoral candidate, State Rep. Zohran Mamdani (D-NY) kisses the hand of his wife Rama Duwaji as they celebrate during an election night gathering at The Greats of Craft LIC on June 24, 2025 in the Long Island City neighborhood of the Queens borough in New York City on June 24. File Photo/AFP New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has been in the limelight since besting Andrew Cuomo to win the Democratic nomination to run the city last month. The Indian-origin socialist's shocking victory has brought him to the centre stage of US politics. Besides his views, Mamdani has also been making headlines for his personal life. The 33-year-old, who married artist and animator Rama Duwaji in February, reportedly held a lavish three-day celebration to celebrate his wedding at his family's luxurious estate in Uganda last week. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The festivities, however, have sparked controversy. Here's why. Mamdani's wedding bash in Uganda Zohran Mamdani, the son of Indian filmmaker Mira Nair and renowned Ugandan academic Mahmood Mamdani, celebrated his wedding with Rama Duwaji, 27, at a lavish compound owned by his family in Uganda, as per a New York Post report. The private compound is located in the posh Buziga Hill area outside the capital city of Kampala. The neighbourhood is home to some of Uganda's richest, including billionaire businessman Godfrey Kirumira. Mamdani was born in Uganda and spent the first few years of his life there before moving to the US at the age of seven. The Queens politician returned to his birthplace to mark his love for his wife. Duwaji and Mamdani, who met on the dating app Hinge, had eloped in February. The couple hosted wedding celebrations at the compound guarded by masked security guards, with guests partying until midnight last week, reported New York Post. Mamdani's family home is secluded and spread over two acres of lush gardens, surrounded by trees, with at least three security gates. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A witness told The Post that the security was so tight that one gate was being watched by around nine guards. 'Outside the Mamdani house were more than 20 special forces command unit guards, some in masks, and there was a phone-jamming system set up — and all for the strictly invite-only Mamdani event,' the witness added. Guests were served fruit juices and they danced to music from a local DJ last Thursday (July 24). As per a witness, Mamdani is believed to have addressed guests later that night, with the party ending after midnight. 'Then on Friday, inside the compound, there were military style tents being taken down when the party had finished,' they added. 'Then what looked like Mamdani personal security guards took over at the gates.' Mamdani had previously confirmed his trip to Uganda on his Instagram, saying he would stay there until the end of the month. Why Mamdani's wedding bash is facing flak Zohran Mamdani, who says he wants to raise taxes on the top one per cent of New Yorkers, is facing backlash over his reported extravagant wedding festivities. Andrew Cuomo, who is still in the NYC mayoral race as an independent, took a potshot at his rival. In a poll on X, he asked his followers to vote on whether Mamdani's three-day wedding was 'champagne socialism' or 'trust fund socialism.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Correct term? — Andrew Cuomo (@andrewcuomo) July 27, 2025 Some locals found the wedding bash 'insensitive' as Uganda was in mourning for former Ugandan Supreme Court Judge George Kanyeihamba, who lived just three minutes from Mamdanis' house. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni visited Kanyeihamba's residence to pay his last respects and 'the street was blocked by the president's cars,' a local was quoted as saying. 'Because of the culture here, it was insensitive to have a wedding celebration in the same week as mourning – or 'Okukungubaga' – as it's called here,' another told The Post. 'He has not even been buried, and we have his friends coming to give last words and to mourn before the burial next week, yet Mamdani is celebrating his wedding for three days,' the source added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD As reports of Mamdani's lavish wedding celebrations surfaced, X users also took a jibe at the socialist candidate. One posted, 'Zohran Mamdani wants to ban all guns and defund the police, then flies to Uganda for his wedding, guarded by masked special forces at his family's multimillion-dollar compound. Socialism for thee, not for me.' Another user mocked him as 'man of the people'. 'Zohran Mamdani: Nothing says American like getting married on your family's luxury Uganda compound. A man of the people,' they wrote. 'Mamdani clearly doesn't see the irony—his wealth and lavish lifestyle, including that Uganda wedding bash with armed guards, stem directly from capitalism. As a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist, he thrives while pushing policies like defunding the NYPD and rent freezes that could financially ruin everyone else,' another tweeted. With inputs from agencies
New York Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
PA Gov. Josh Shapiro bashes NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani over failure to condemn ‘blatantly antisemitic' extremists
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has ripped New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani for failing to condemn the 'blatantly antisemitic' rhetoric being spewed by his Israel-bashing supporters. 'You have to speak and act with moral clarity, and when supporters of yours say things that are blatantly antisemitic, you can't leave room for that to just sit there,' Shapiro, a fellow Dem, told the Jewish Insider on Wednesday about the socialist state lawmaker. 'You've got to condemn that.' Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday bashed Zohran Mamdani for failing to condemn the 'blatantly antisemitic' rhetoric being spewed by his Israel-bashing supporters. Getty Images The governor took aim at Mamdani after the lefty firebrand, whose shock mayoral primary win last month has largely divided the party, faced widespread backlash over his anti-Israel commentary. 'He seemed to run a campaign that excited New Yorkers,' Shapiro said. 'He also seemed to run a campaign where he left open far too much space for extremists to either use his words or for him to not condemn the words of extremists that said some blatantly antisemitic things.' Critics have been tearing into Mamdani of late as they accused the progressive frontrunner of being antisemitic over his backing of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel. Mamdani has faced widespread backlash over his past anti-Israel commentary and initial refusal to condemn the 'Globalize the intifada' phrase. James Messerschmidt The Queens assemblyman has maintained that opposing the Zionist state is not antisemitic and insisted that he'd fight against Jew hatred as mayor. Mamdani has also faced widespread backlash for refusing to condemn the 'globalize the intifada' rallying cry seized on by anti-Israel groups. In the wake of his Democratic primary win, Mamdani has said he now discourages people from using the phrase after meeting with Jewish elected officials. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) was among those to rip the mayoral hopeful's controversial comments on the intifada — arguing that he should emphatically 'denounce it' if he wants to rep the Big Apple. 'As a leader of a city as diverse as New York City with 8 million people, as the largest Jewish population in the country, he should denounce it. And that's it. Period,' Gillibrand, a pro-Israel Democrat, told WNYC last month. The criticism from Shapiro comes as Mamdani grapples to secure the overall backing of his party. New York's top three Dem leaders — Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — have so far refused to say whether they'd endorse the nominee.
Hindustan Times
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Zohran Mamdani 'needs to be deported': Republicans over NYC mayoral candidate's anti-ICE stance
Calls for the deportation of New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani are growing louder among Republicans. While Mamdani himself has vowed to expel the 'fascist' US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) out from the city properties. President Donald Trump's Border Czar Tom Homan warned against it, saying, 'Good luck with that.' New York mayoral candidate, State Rep. Zohran Mamdani (D-NY) speaks to supporters during an election night gathering at The Greats of Craft LIC on June 24, 2025 in the Long Island City neighborhood of the Queens borough in New York City. (AFP) 'It's game on,' Homan told Fox News, a day after Mamdani declared victory over former governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic mayoral primary. Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblyman from Queens and a Democratic socialist, had made immigration reform a central part of his campaign. His platform promises to 'kick the fascist ICE out' and strengthen New York's sanctuary city protections by cutting off cooperation with federal agents, boosting legal aid, and safeguarding immigrants' data. 'Zohran Mamdani will fight Trump's attempts to gouge the working class and deliver a city where everyone can afford a dignified life,' reads a statement on his campaign website. Homan responded by saying Mamdani's proposals carry no legal weight. 'Good luck with that, federal law trumps him every day, every hour of every minute,' Homan said. 'We're going to be in New York City, matter of fact, because it's a sanctuary city and President Trump made it clear a week and a half ago — we're going to double down and triple down on sanctuary cities.' According to Homan, ICE operations will increase in New York due to concerns about public safety and national security. He said more agents would be deployed and worksite enforcement would be expanded 'tenfold.' Homan also compared New York to Florida, claiming that cooperation with ICE is smoother in Republican-led states. 'We don't have that problem in Florida, where the sheriffs work with us,' he said. 'So we're going to double up and triple up on New York.' He added, 'Not only are we going to send more agents to the neighborhood, we are going to increase worksite enforcement tenfold.' 'Little Muhammad' needs to be deported In the latest, Tennessee Republican Congressman Andy Ogles ignited a political firestorm this week after referring to New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani as 'little Muhammad' and calling for his deportation. 'He needs to be DEPORTED,' Ogles wrote on X (formerly Twitter). 'Which is why I am calling for him to be subject to denaturalisation proceedings.' In the same post, Ogles labeled Mamdani 'an antisemitic, socialist, communist who will destroy the great City of New York.' The congressman escalated his rhetoric with a formal letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, urging the Department of Justice to investigate whether Mamdani gained U.S. citizenship through fraud. He cited a 2017 rap lyric by Mamdani referencing the 'Holy Land Five' — individuals who led a Muslim charity shut down for illegally funding Hamas in 2008. Curbing ICE, Mamdani's one of many plans for New York While his pledge to remove ICE from city facilities has drawn national attention, it is just one part of a broader agenda. Mamdani's campaign also promises to establish city-run grocery stores, freeze rent hikes in rent-stabilised apartments, and make city buses free for all. He says these proposals would be funded through a $10 billion tax increase on large businesses and wealthy residents. Since 2021, Zohran Mamdani has served as a state assemblyman representing Astoria, Queens. His recent win in the Democratic mayoral primary suggests growing public support for his progressive platform in New York City.
New York Post
27-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Sen. Gillibrand rips NYC mayor hopeful Zohran Mamdani's controversial intifada comments, insists he should ‘denounce it'
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has ripped mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani's controversial comments on intifada — insisting the Democratic socialist should emphatically 'denounce it' if he wants to rep the Big Apple. Gillibrand, a pro-Israel Democrat, laid into Mamdani for refusing to condemn the 'globalize the intifada' rallying cry used by others as she demanded a sit-down with him so he can explain himself. 'As a leader of a city as diverse as New York City with 8 million people, as the largest Jewish population in the country, he should denounce it. And that's it. Period,' Gillibrand said during an appearance on WNYC on Thursday. 4 Zohran Mamdani won the NYC mayoral election primary. REUTERS 4 Senator Kirsten Gillibrand sparred with radio hosts on Mamdani's victory. LP Media The senator stressed that it was not enough for the 33-year-old Queens assemblyman to dubiously claim that intifada is not a call for violence but a broader term referring to resistance and uprisings. 'It doesn't matter what meaning you have in your brain, it is not how the word is received. And when you use a word like Intifada, to many Jewish Americans and Jewish New Yorkers, that means you are permissive for violence against Jews,' Gillibrand said. 'It is a serious word. It is a word that has deep meaning. It has been used for wars across time and violence and destruction and slaughter and murder against the Jews,' she continued. 4 Zohran Mamdani is an assemblyman now running to be NYC's. next mayor. Stephen Yang 'It is a harmful, hurtful, inappropriate word for anyone who wants to represent a city as diverse as New York City with 8 million people.' Gillibrand said she spoke to Mamdani on the phone after his Democratic primary upset over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo earlier this week, but now wants a meeting to hash it out. 'I've never sat down with Mr Mamdani. So I've asked to have that meeting. I'm going to have that meeting,' she said. 4 New York, New York, United States: U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) alongside U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mariama James (R). Gillibrand said she had already expressed her concerns directly to Mamdani about his statements regarding Israel and pubic safety — and that he'd vowed to work with her if he's elected. 'This is something I care deeply about, and so I will be an advocate on these issues. These are things that I think are important to New Yorkers,' she said. 'And I will work with him when he gets elected, if he gets elected, to make sure everyone is protected.'
Sinar Daily
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sinar Daily
Rapper-turned-reformer Zohran Mamdani unconventional path to NYC mayoral
SHAH ALAM – He rapped his way through high school, surfed SoundCloud in his twenties and now, Zohran Mamdani, rapper-turned-rent reformer, is one step away from becoming the next Mayor of New York City. The 33-year-old Democratic socialist and first-generation immigrant has just pulled off a stunning political upset, defeating former Governor and seasoned political heavyweight Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary. New York mayoral candidate, State Rep. Zohran Mamdani (D-NY) speaks to supporters during an election night gathering at The Greats of Craft LIC on June 24, 2025 in the Long Island City neighborhood of the Queens borough in New York City. AFP photo He is now primed to record a historic moment in United States (US) history as the first Muslim immigrant Mayor of New York City, the country's largest city. A Mayor in the Making, Born in Kampala Born in Kampala, Uganda, to celebrated filmmaker Mira Nair and Harvard professor Mahmood Mamdani, Zohran was just seven when his family moved to New York. Despite having a last name that carried prestige in academic and creative circles, Zohran's own path was what many would call unconventional. Still, for immigrants around the world who resonated with him, his journey was not all that different from theirs. He grew up navigating immigrant life in Queens, attended the Bronx High School of Science where he lost a student council race after running a campaign entirely in rhyme and eventually earned a degree in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College. There, he co-founded the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, planting the seeds of a lifelong activist streak. He became a US citizen in 2018 and wasted no time diving into grassroots politics. Just three years later, he won a seat in the New York State Assembly representing Astoria, Queens and the rest, as they say, is political history in the making. Mr. Cardamom, Your Future Mayor? Before politics, there was poetry. And beats subjective tastes apply. Mamdani's past life as a rapper under the names "Young Cardamom" and "Mr. Cardamom" has become the internet's favourite subplot in his meteoric rise. His single '#1 Spice,' created with childhood friend Abdul Car Hussein (a.k.a. HAB), earned a spot on the soundtrack of Disney's Queen of Katwe, a film directed by his own mother. 'Every brown boy lived on SoundCloud at one point,' he joked during a recent appearance on the Kutti Gang comedy show. 'I'm running on a very simple message. It's not about being on SoundCloud, though, respect," he said. His 2019 music video for the track 'Nani,' a playful ode to his grandmother Praveen Nair (founder of the Salaam Baalak Trust), starred Indian-American legend Madhur Jaffrey and has now surpassed 279,000 views on YouTube. With lyrics like '85 years gold' and 'best damn Nani that you ever done seen,' Mamdani's creative chops clearly extend beyond policy memos. New York mayoral candidate, State Rep. Zohran Mamdani (D-NY) greets voters with Democratic mayoral candidate Michael Blake on 161st Street on June 24, 2025 in the South Bronx in New York City. AFP photo Grassroots Gold Mamdani's campaign has echoed the structure of his past projects: creative, scrappy and built on community support. His bid for mayor raised over US$7 million, largely from more than 16,000 small donors. Consider that his net worth, estimated only to be between US$200,000 and US$300,000, stands in stark contrast to the billionaires who typically dominate American politics. His income largely comes from his US$142,000 salary as an Assemblyman and he also receives annual rap royalties, amounting to approximately US$1,267 per year. It is not just about the money. Mamdani's message has resonated across New York's working-class, immigrant and progressive communities. His proposals include free public buses, city-run affordable grocery stores, tripling the production of union-built rent-stabilised housing and a US$10 billion tax hike on the wealthy to fund it all. "This is a city where one in four of its people are living in poverty, a city where 500,000 kids go to sleep hungry every night. 'Ultimately, it's a city that is in danger of losing that which makes it so special," Mamdani said in a talk with BBC. Unafraid and Unapologetically Muslim A sorely missed but undoubtedly needed element in America's often complex and ever-shifting stance on pro-Islamic and anti-Islamic matters is a Muslim voice. Mamdani, however, wears his faith proudly. It is interesting to note that throughout his campaign and during Ramadan, he broke fast on a subway train with a burrito to highlight food insecurity. He also frequently visited mosques and released a campaign video entirely in Urdu. Mira Nair, New York mayoral candidate, State Rep. Zohran Mamdani (D-NY) Rama Duwaji and Mahmood Mamdani celebrate on stage during an election night gathering at The Greats of Craft LIC on June 24, 2025 in the Long Island City neighbourhood of the Queens borough in New York City. AFP photo 'We know that to stand in public as a Muslim is also to sacrifice the safety that we can sometimes find in the shadows,' he told a rally this spring. Despite the overwhelming support from American Muslims and Muslims worldwide, that visibility has undoubtedly painted a large bullseye target on his back. Throughout his campaign, Mamdani has faced Islamophobic threats and even calls for deportation from Donald Trump-aligned council members—despite being a US citizen. 'Death threats. Islamophobic bigotry. Now a sitting Council member is calling for my deportation. Enough. This is what Trump and his sycophants have wrought. It's an assault on the values of our city and our Constitution,' his response stated. Trump's Worst Nightmare If Mamdani is the musical, multicultural antithesis of a billionaire real estate mogul and twice-impeached convicted felon, it is most definitely not by accident. 'I am Donald Trump's worst nightmare as a progressive Muslim immigrant who actually fights for the things that I believe in,' Mamdani declared earlier in his campaign. Trump, never one to hold back, took to Truth Social with his signature flair for hyperbole and insult and fired back at the soon-to-be youngest New York Mayor in United States history. 'It's finally happened, the Democrats have crossed the line. Zohran Mamdani, a 100 per cent communist lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary and is on his way to becoming Mayor. We've had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous. He looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he's not very smart,' Trump wrote. In a separate post, Trump mocked Democratic backers like New York City congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and called US Senator Chuck Schumer 'our Great Palestinian Senator,' accusing him of 'grovelling over Mamdani.' A Hopeful Future Whether rapping about turmeric or battling for tenant rights, Mamdani's journey from Kampala to City Hall has never been linear. It's been poetic, political and sometimes personal. With his grassroots engine, progressive policies and a platform grounded in dignity and diversity, he's not just campaigning for mayor, he's rewriting what leadership can look like in the biggest city in the world. 'Tonight, we made history. 'I will be your Democratic nominee for the mayor of New York City," Mamdani told his supporters. All that's left is the final chorus when Mr. Cardamom becomes Mayor Mamdani, bringing some poetic justice to New York and America.
