Zohran Mamdani has backed a controversial choice for his replacement in the New York State Assembly who once said ‘white supremacy’ was to blame for the attacks on September 11, 2001.
Aber Kawas, a Palestinian-American activist who only moved to the district last year, has received Mamdani’s backing in her fight to take his seat in the state’s 36th district in a special election, The New York Daily News reported.
The mayor-elect endorsement has gained the 34-year-old newfound attention on some of her more extreme opinions, including one dug up from an Asian American Writers’ Workshop in 2017.
In it, Kawas – who holds a Master’s in Islamic Liberation Theology from a university in South Africa, connects the attacks on 9/11 to the ‘American system’.
‘The system of capitalism and racism and white supremacy and Islamophobia have all been used to colonize lands, to take resources from other people, so this is a long trajectory and we’re just seeing the manifestations of that continuation with 9/11,’ she said.
Kawas added that ‘a lot of times when people are asking us to respond about, you know, an attack when if you look back historically, a lot of come from lands that were colonized and where wars were being waged.’
‘The idea that we have to apologize for a terror attack that a couple people did and then there is no apology for genocides or slavery is something that I find reprehensible,’ she finished.
Mamdani has positioned himself as a firebrand leftist – both he and Kawas are members of the Democratic Socialists of America – with his own anti-Israel activism.
Commentators on all sides were outraged, with one asking: ‘What the hell was Zohran thinking?’
‘It is getting absurd how many people seeking political office clearly hate this country and want to destroy the foundational principles that have made it successful,’ wrote another.
Another compared it to Mamdani’s friendship with leftist Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who infamously said that America ‘deserved 9/11.’
‘Why do Zohran Mamdani’s supporters keep justifying 9/11?’
Ironically, Kawas’s biggest opponent appears to be another DSA member Brian Romero, the deputy chief of staff of Jessica Gonzales-Rojaz, a fellow assembly member set to run for State Senate next year.
The Daily Mail has reached out to both Mamdani and Kawas for comment.
The mayor-elect has recently attempted to make nice with President Donald Trump, who has referred to the 34-year-old as a communist.
Mamdani revealed that he plans to contact Donald Trump before he takes office because his relationship with the president ‘will be critical to the success of the city.’
The Democratic Socialist confirmed in an interview with NBC New York that he will call Trump before being sworn in.
‘It is important that you are open to working with anyone no matter what disagreements you have,’ Mamdani said.
‘If President Trump wants to speak about lowering the cost of living or delivering cheaper groceries like he ran on [before], I’m here to have that conversation.’
The 34-year-old mayor-elect did not specify when he would contact Trump, but did say: ‘when he calls, I’m here to work for the benefit of the people who call this city home.’
‘Wherever there is a possibility for working together towards that end, I’m ready. And if [the administration’s policies] are to the expense of those New Yorkers, I will fight,’ he said.
Mamdani also slammed the president’s hardline immigration policies in the interview, adding that he will be ‘proactive’ in his efforts to combat them.
This astonishing move comes after their tensions reached a fever pitch prior to the mayoral election.
Trump endorsed his longtime rival, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in a last-ditch effort to stop Mamdani from winning the election.
He previously hinted that he would rather a ‘bad Democrat’ like Cuomo beat Mamdani because New York would turn into a ‘complete and total economic and social disaster’ under his principles.
The president even threatened on multiple occasions to withhold federal funds from the Big Apple if the 34-year-old came to office.
‘If Communist Candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the Election for Mayor of New York City, it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum as required, to my beloved first home,’ he wrote on social media.
‘Because of the fact that, as a Communist, this once great City has ZERO chance of success, or even survival!’
Mamdani lashed back at the president after winning the election, directly addressing him during his victory speech.
‘Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: turn the volume up!’ he said.
But the animosity may settle, with Trump saying last week ‘let’s see how a communist does in New York.’
‘We’re going to see how that works out, and we’ll help him,’ he said.
‘We’ll help him. We want New York to be successful.’
Mamdani also confirmed that he and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul have been working together on ways to relieve pressure from the current administration’s threats.
