Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were caught yukking it up during the somber reading of 9/11 victims at Ground Zero during the 25th anniversary service Friday.
The New York City Democratic Socialists of America darlings appeared all smiles in a live feed of the ceremony, interspersed with shots of a man cradling his head in his arms and bawling his eyes out while friends and family read out the names of their departed loved ones from the podium.
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Pointed reactions online to the apparent show of disrespect at the site where thousands of Americans were murdered by terrorists were quick to emerge.
“Why the f–k are these two laughing?!?” Meghan McCain, former “The View” host and daughter of late GOP Sen. John McCain, wrote on X.
“How the hell do you laugh while the names of those murdered on 9/11 are being read aloud? Why would you do so?” wondered Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz.
“After thousands of families of victims of terror beg Mamdani not to show up, he stands there and laughs while families weep. This is NYC’s Mayor,” scolded Brooklyn Republican Councilwoman Inna Vernikov.
One insider told The Post that the ungraceful scene unfolded after Mamdani was notably left standing alone once Gov. Kathy Hochul, state Attorney General Letitia James and and Sen. Chuck Schumer shuffled out mid-ceremony.
“Nobody wanted to be by him,” the source said. “It was awkward.”
The mayor’s commissioners and AOC then moved to fill up the seats around him, which led to the seemingly jovial exchange between the two.
The source defended the mayor, saying he stayed somber and respectful and outlasted most politicians, staying until the end of the ceremony and talking with victims’ families, but conceded Hizzoner left himself open to any bit of criticism.
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“He doesn’t help his case,” the insider quipped. “This guy doesn’t distance himself from people who say America deserved to be attacked. And where the f—k was his wife? She misses America 250, now this.”
Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji has rarely attended mayoral functions — claiming to be a private person as the Big Apple’s first lady — but has made appearances at the Knicks’ ticker-tape parade and NYC Fashion Week.
The mayor’s very presence at the commemorative event stood in defiance to a campaign by aggrieved 9/11 victims’ relatives, who earlier this week hand-delivered him a petition urging him to steer clear of the ceremonies marking the attack.
But former Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s head of security, Michael Ragusa, said the widely circulating video of Mamdani and AOC’s moment of mirth lacked context, claiming he was standing right next to them at the ceremony.
“The camera just caught her greeting him hello. Multiple other politicians were laughing and joking behind me. Republicans and Democrats,” he wrote on X.
“And for the record I am a life long republican who has been very critical of these two,” he added.
A short time before his DSA comrade chuckled by his side, Mamdani was seen shaking hands in an awkward interaction with former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who led the city on Sept. 11, 2001.
An insider said Giuliani gave the mayor one of the warmer welcomes while others “iced him out.”
“None of the elected wanted to be near him,” they said.
On Thursday night, Hizzoner took part in a Manhattan 9/11 memorial walk, with stops at Christian, Jewish and Muslim houses of worship — though Mamdani only joined for the final stop at an Islamic center.
Mamdani was criticized on the campaign trail for appearing to trivialize the terror attacks, fighting back tears in front of a cadre of Muslim leaders as he told the story of how his “Auntie” was personally victimized.
“I want to speak to the memory of my aunt, who stopped taking the subway after Sept. 11 because she did not feel safe in her hjiab,” then-candidate Mamdani intoned.
