Rudy Giuliani tells Zohran Mamdani to skip Ground Zero 9/11 ceremony

The Hill reported Rudy Giuliani urged New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to skip the Ground Zero 9/11 commemoration, while Mamdani vowed to attend and honor victims.

Giuliani challenged Mamdani’s planned appearance during a Newsmax interview, saying the mayor’s presence offended him because he lost friends in the attack.

The clash puts Giuliani, a former New York City mayor, against the city’s current leader before a ceremony attended by victims’ families and national political figures. It also follows a petition opposing Mamdani’s attendance that drew 100,000 signatures.

Giuliani ties his objection to friends lost on 9/11

In its Sept. 7 account, The Hill reported that Giuliani accused Mamdani of rejecting his description of the attack as Islamic terrorism.

“Frankly, whatever he’d like to say, he doesn’t agree that Sept. 11 was an Islamic terrorist attack on the United States of America.”

Giuliani then grounded his objection in his own connection to those killed and the families left behind.

“Having lost friends there, and being very close to many of the families, it offends me that he’s coming.”

Mamdani’s July statement did not address Giuliani’s specific allegation. The mayor instead called 9/11 a horrific terror attack and pledged to honor the families, survivors and first responders affected by it.

The dispute comes as Mamdani already faces opposition elsewhere, including backlash at an NYPD event. But a 9/11 ceremony carries a weight that ordinary political appearances do not.

Mamdani answers with a pledge and two executive orders

Mamdani said he would stand with those affected by the attack and reaffirm that New York and the nation would never forget that day. He plans to attend despite Giuliani’s objection and the petition campaign.

The Change.org petition calls for Mamdani to stay away from the ceremony. The Hill said it cited his support for people whom petition organizers view as dismissive of American institutions or insufficiently critical of extremist ideologies.

Mamdani also signed two 9/11-related executive orders the week before Giuliani’s interview. One called for an overhaul of New York City’s emergency preparedness plans.

The second established September 11 as a citywide day of remembrance and service. Those official acts now sit beside a bitter public dispute over whether Mamdani should attend the city’s central observance.

The mayor’s administration has faced separate questions about its handling of city policy, including a Mamdani tax setback. That broader pressure makes clear why the mayor wants to show that he can lead at a solemn civic event.

Friday’s ceremonies will bring national leaders to New York and the Pentagon

Vice President JD Vance and four of the five living presidents are scheduled to join Mamdani at Ground Zero on Friday. The Hill did not identify the four presidents by name.

President Trump is scheduled to attend a separate ceremony at the Pentagon and deliver a speech. The two observances will place the nation’s senior political leaders at sites tied directly to the attack.

For Mamdani, the Ground Zero appearance comes amid continued debate over his agenda and leadership. His city-owned grocery proposal, for example, has prompted taxpayer cost concerns.

But the argument over Friday is narrower. Giuliani says Mamdani’s views make his attendance offensive, while Mamdani says he will honor the people forever affected by the attack.

A 9/11 commemoration should put victims, families and first responders above political positioning. New Yorkers have every right to judge their leaders by that standard.