Did Zohran Mamdani delete or apologize for any 9/11 social media post and when?
Executive summary
Zohran Mamdani faced a social-media and press backlash in late October 2025 over remarks about a Muslim relative who he said stopped riding the subway after 9/11; reporting shows he clarified the anecdote and engaged in “damage control,” but the sources provided do not document a formal apology or a specific post-deletion tied to those 9/11 remarks [1] mayoral-candidates-false-claim-was-busted-by-the-internet/articleshow/124864823.cms?from=mdr" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">[2]. His only clearly documented public apology in the supplied reporting relates to prior criticisms of the NYPD — not the 9/11 anecdote — which he made publicly while running for mayor in October 2025 [3] [4].
1. What triggered the controversy and how Mamdani responded publicly
The immediate controversy began when Mamdani recounted a personal anecdote on the campaign trail about an aunt who “stopped taking the subway after September 11” as a way to describe how Islamophobia affected Muslim New Yorkers; that speech drew sharp conservative attention and ridicule on social platforms, including reposts by high-profile critics [1]. In the days after the backlash, reporting shows Mamdani clarified that the person he referenced was not a “biological aunt” but a more distant relative — described in some accounts as a distant cousin named Zehra — and his campaign undertook what outlets called “damage control” to correct the record [2].
2. Did he apologize for the 9/11 account?
None of the supplied articles record a straight, on-the-record apology from Mamdani specifically for the 9/11 anecdote; instead they document clarification and attempts to explain the wording of his speech [2]. Multiple outlets reported calls from critics and the woman pictured in social-media threads demanding an apology, and that she said he should apologize, but the sources indicate Mamdani’s response was clarification rather than a formal apology in those reports [2] [1].
3. Was any post deleted?
The reporting provided does not contain verified documentation that Mamdani deleted a specific social-media post relating to the 9/11 remark, nor does it cite screenshots or platform statements confirming deletion [1] [2]. Coverage instead focuses on the viral spread of clips and images that prompted pushback and on Mamdani’s effort to clarify the identity of the relative he referred to, without reporting a takedown or explicit deletion event.
4. How this episode sits alongside other apologies he has made
Mamdani has previously apologized in public for earlier comments accusing the NYPD of racism and labeling the department a “rogue agency,” according to campaign-era coverage and the candidate’s public statements; that apology was documented while he sought to mend ties with law-enforcement communities during his mayoral run [3] [4]. This provides a context in which Mamdani has issued formal apologies on some matters, but that documented pattern does not prove he issued one specifically for the 9/11 anecdote in the sourced reporting [3].
5. Competing narratives and possible agendas in the coverage
Reporting and commentary around the 9/11 anecdote reveal sharply divided narratives: outlets such as 19th News frame the backlash as part of persistent Islamophobia and political attack lines against a Muslim candidate, while conservative commentators and partisan columns framed Mamdani’s anecdote as deceptive or politically opportunistic [1] [5]. International tabloids and aggregator pieces emphasized the “damage control” angle and suggested a failure of credibility, but the primary local reporting cited here documents clarification rather than a courtable admission of falsity or an unequivocal apology [2] [1].
6. Bottom line from the available reporting
Based on the supplied sources, Zohran Mamdani clarified his 9/11 anecdote and engaged in “damage control” after critics identified a woman pictured online, but the material provided does not show a formal apology or verified deletion of a social-media post explicitly tied to the 9/11 comments; his documented public apology in these sources pertains to earlier criticisms of the NYPD, not the 9/11 anecdote [2] [3] [4]. If confirmation of a deletion or an apology for the 9/11 remarks is needed, further sourcing beyond the items supplied would be required.