With comrades like these…
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first 100 days in office were rife with controversies over the radical, sometimes hateful, beliefs of his friends, appointments — and even his “aloof wife” Rama Duwaji.
The political predicaments arguably reached their pinnacle last month when it was revealed that Duwaji used the N-word in social media posts more than a decade ago, among other questionable online antics.
Mamdani defended Duwaji, bafflingly trying to shield New York City’s first lady from scrutiny by calling her a “private person.”
But he hinted this week that his wife could take on a more public role.
“I can say she hasn’t made any final decision to that end,” he told NY1.
“But she is an artist,” he continued, “I’d say an incredible one of my own opinion, and she’s someone who’s always spoken about the importance of art as a part of any flourishing society. And I can imagine that that is something that she could encourage to take place in our city.”
Mamdani’s inner circle trouble started even before he was sworn in as mayor on Jan. 1.
Cat Almonte Da Costa, one of his first staff picks who was slated to serve as his head of appointments, resigned before Hizzoner took office over her antisemitic social media posts.
“Money hungry Jews smh,” read a tweet by Da Costa from 2011, which was brought to light by the Anti-Defamation League.
Several other vile posts surfaced, prompting Da Costa to apologize and resign within hours of being exposed. She lamented she had become a “distraction” to Mamdani’s mission.
Weeks later, Mamdani marked his first day in office by appointing his longtime pal and fellow housing advocate Cea Weaver to serve as the head of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants.
Within days, radical online posts from Weaver came to light — including a 2018 missive in which she called to seize private property, deeming it a “weapon of white supremacy.”
Weaver later dubbed her posts “regretful” — facing a storm of condemnations by homeowners across the five boroughs.
Mamdani, for his part, stood firm by his fellow Democratic Socialists of America member.
“I made the decision to have her as our executive director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, not because of her comments, but because of her work,” he told Pix11 in January.
Mamdani’s stance on Israel and his relationship with New York’s Jewish community — which accounts for about 12% of the city’s population — drew scrutiny and outright alarm during his mayoral campaign and afterward.
The ADL contended that a whopping 20% of Mamdani’s 400-person transition team — a group he hired after the election to consult him on policy and appointments — had “extremist” backgrounds.
As a proud supporter of the Palestinian cause, Mamdani cultivated friendships with figures like anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested by ICE over his anti-Israel protest activities, and lefty Twitch streamer Hasan Piker.
Piker drew lasting controversy for once saying “America deserved 9/11,” a remark he has since called “inappropriate.”
Both attended Mamdani’s election night party, while Khalil later also went to his inauguration and a private Ramadan dinner held at Gracie Mansion, with Duwaji also present.
Those dust-ups, however, were only a prelude to the reveal in March that Duwaji had a racist online footprint.
She came under fire for liking inflammatory Instagram posts celebrating Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Shortly after, her Tumblr account was uncovered. Along with a 2013 post in which Duwaji used the N-word, she contended that Tel Aviv “shouldn’t exist in the first place.”
Mamdani tried to downplay the severity by claiming his wife was a private person, saying the focus should be on his own thoughts and politics.
“My wife is the love of my life, and she’s also a private person who has held no formal position on my campaign or in my City Hall,” Mamdani told reporters at a March press conference shortly after Duwaji’s old accounts were exposed.
“I, however, was elected to represent all 8.5 million people in the city. And I believe that it’s my responsibility because of that role to answer questions about my thoughts and my politics, and my stances.”
Another controversial appointment came to light just this week, when City Council members confronted Mamdani’s pick to be the commissioner for the Department of Investigation, Nadia Shihata.
Shihata had alleged donated $700 and canvassed for Mamdani’s mayoral campaign.
When questioned by reporters about the Shihata’s clear involvement, Mamdani simply replied, “I was not aware.”
— Additional reporting by Matt Troutman
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