Mayor Mamdani to attend 9/11 ceremony amid criticism
Critics cite his chief legal counsel's past representation of an al-Qaeda member's relative.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Mayor Mamdani says he'll attend 9/11 ceremony despite growing criticism
Photograph: abc 7 Chicago (embedded from source)
What this story says
- New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will attend the annual 9/11 remembrance ceremony on Friday.
- Criticism of Mamdani's attendance centres on his appointment of Ramzi Kassem as chief legal counsel.
- Kassem previously represented a convicted al-Qaeda member whose brother-in-law was involved in the 9/11 attacks.
- A petition against Mamdani's attendance has gathered nearly 100,000 signatures.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 10 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
60/100
Craft
70/100
Hype
20/100
10 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 10 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has stated he will attend the city's annual 9/11 remembrance ceremony on Friday. His decision has faced criticism from some family members of victims and prominent Republicans, who have called for him to stay away.
The controversy centres on Mamdani's appointment of Ramzi Kassem as chief legal counsel. Critics point to Kassem's past legal representation of a convicted al-Qaeda member. This individual's brother-in-law was involved in the 9/11 attacks, having been part of the group that hijacked the plane which struck the Pentagon.
A petition organised by relatives of 9/11 victims urging Mamdani not to attend has garnered nearly 100,000 signatures, according to its supporters. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani has publicly stated he would be offended by Mamdani's attendance and made claims that critics have described as baseless, including suggesting the mayor does not believe the 9/11 attacks were acts of terrorism.
Mamdani has defended his commitment to honouring the victims. He stated his focus at the ceremony will be on the first responders and the families who lost loved ones. Mamdani is expected to be the first Muslim mayor to attend the official ceremony, though most previous New York City mayors have participated.
Giuliani's claims
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, speaking on Newsmax, said he would be offended by Mamdani's attendance. Giuliani also made claims that critics and others have described as baseless. Some have characterised Giuliani's comments as anti-Muslim.
What the coverage left out
None of the reports below mention the presence of Vice President JD Vance or the absence of President Trump from the ceremony, details included in the full reports from ABC 7 Chicago and ABC 13 Houston.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 7 Sept 2026, 18:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
4 rated outlets
- The left-rated reports led on Mayor Mamdani's confirmation that he would attend the 9/11 ceremony despite criticism. These reports included details about the controversy stemming from his appointment of Ramzi Kassem as chief legal counsel, noting Kassem's past representation of a convicted al-Qaeda member whose relative was involved in the 9/11 attacks. The reports also mentioned the petition against Mamdani's attendance, which gathered nearly 100,000 signatures. IBTimes UK reported the petition had 98,000 signatures.
Centre
6 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports also led on Mayor Mamdani's intention to attend the 9/11 remembrance ceremony despite mounting criticism. These reports detailed the controversy surrounding his chief legal counsel, Ramzi Kassem, and Kassem's prior representation of an al-Qaeda member's relative. The reports noted the petition against Mamdani's attendance had gathered nearly 100,000 signatures. Several centre-rated outlets, including ABC 7 Chicago, ABC 13 Houston, ABC 6 Philadelphia, ABC 7 LA, ABC11 Raleigh, and ABC 7 News, published identical full reports from the Associated Press.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Mayor Mamdani to attend 9/11 ceremony amid criticism?
- Of the 10 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 40% are rated left, 60% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Mayor Mamdani to attend 9/11 ceremony amid criticism left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 10 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Mayor Mamdani to attend 9/11 ceremony amid criticism biased?
- Mayor Mamdani to attend 9/11 ceremony amid criticism is one event reported by 10 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Mayor Mamdani to attend 9/11 ceremony amid criticism?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Mayor Mamdani to attend 9/11 ceremony amid criticism?
- 10 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Why is Mayor Mamdani facing criticism over attending the 9/11 ceremony?
- Criticism stems from Mayor Mamdani's appointment of Ramzi Kassem as chief legal counsel. Kassem previously represented a convicted al-Qaeda member whose brother-in-law was involved in the 9/11 attacks. This has led some to question Mamdani's attendance at the remembrance event.
- How many people have signed the petition against Mamdani's attendance?
- A petition launched by relatives of 9/11 victims urging the mayor not to attend the annual ceremony has gathered nearly 100,000 signatures, according to supporters of the effort. IBTimes UK reported the petition had 98,000 signatures.
- What has Mayor Mamdani said about the criticism?
- Mayor Mamdani has stated his focus will be on the victims and first responders. He expressed pride in being the mayor of New York City and stated his intention to focus on the families who lost loved ones and the first responders. When asked about Giuliani's comments, Mamdani said he did not have much more to add.
Read it at the source
10 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
4- Mamdani Faces 98,000-Signature Petition To Keep Him Away From 9/11 Anniversary Memorial (opens IBTimes UK in a new tab)
IBTimes UK — is IBTimes UK biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Mayor Mamdani says he'll attend 9/11 ceremony despite growing criticism (opens abc30 News in a new tab)
abc30 News — is abc30 News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Mayor Mamdani says he'll attend 9/11 ceremony despite growing criticism (opens ABC 7 News in a new tab)
ABC 7 News — is ABC 7 News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Mayor Mamdani says he'll attend 9/11 ceremony despite growing criticism (opens ABC 13 Houston in a new tab)
ABC 13 Houston — is ABC 13 Houston biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
6- Mayor Mamdani says he'll attend 9/11 ceremony despite growing criticism (opens abc11 Raleigh in a new tab)
abc11 Raleigh — is abc11 Raleigh biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Mayor Mamdani says he'll attend 9/11 ceremony despite growing criticism (opens ABC 7 LA in a new tab)
- Mayor Mamdani says he'll attend 9/11 ceremony despite growing criticism (opens ABC 6 Philadelphia in a new tab)
ABC 6 Philadelphia — is ABC 6 Philadelphia biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Mayor Mamdani says he'll attend 9/11 ceremony despite growing criticism (opens ABC 7 Chicago in a new tab)
ABC 7 Chicago — is ABC 7 Chicago biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Mamdani confirms he will attend 9/11 memorial on Friday amid criticism (opens WNYW in a new tab)
- Mamdani confirms he will attend 9/11 memorial on Friday amid criticism (opens WTXF in a new tab)
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
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