Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville is attacking Mayor Mamdani with an anti-Muslim tweet that accused Hizzoner of being “the enemy inside the gates.”
The conservative Alabama lawmaker retweeted a post including a photo of Mamdani hosting a Ramadan iftar dinner at City Hall alongside the Sept. 11 terror attack on the World Trade Center.
Mamdani hit back at Tuberville’s jibe, which falsely suggested that Mamdani or Muslims support terrorism.
“Let there be as much outrage from politicians in Washington when kids go hungry as there is when I break bread with New Yorkers,” tweeted Mamdani, who is the first Muslim mayor of New York City.
At a break fast dinner with Muslim city workers late Thursday, Mamdani said he wasn’t surprised to experience anti-Muslim attacks.
“For nearly as long as there has been a New York City, there have been Muslim New Yorkers,” Mamdani said at the iftar. “And yet for nearly just as long, those with power and platform have sought to dehumanize us.”
New York Democrats joined in the effort to school Tuberville, who has previously drawn criticism for calling Islam a “cult,” with Sen. Chuck Schumer calling the tweet “mindless hate.”
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand called the message “disgraceful and unbecoming of a senator.”
“Delete it immediately and apologize,” Gillibrand tweeted.
Michael Appleton / Mayoral Photography Office
Mayor Zohran Mamdani hosts an iftar dinner at City Hall on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (Michael Appleton / Mayoral Photography Office)
But Tuberville, an outspoken supporter of President Trump who is running for Alabama governor, refused to apologize or back down for the Mamdani tweet.
He insisted Friday he meant what he said.
“To be clear, I didn’t ‘suggest’ Islamists are the enemy. I said it plainly,” Tuberville tweeted.
