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Are there video or primary source records of Zohran Mamdani saying the 9/11 remark and what date do they show?
Executive Summary
Zohran Mamdani is not recorded on video saying “America deserved 9/11”; the contested remarks in public debate trace to a Twitch streamer (Hasan Piker) and to Mamdani’s own annual 9/11 social-media posts, not to a primary-source video of Mamdani endorsing that phrase. Recent reporting shows Mamdani criticized Piker’s 2019 comment, has reiterated personal family experience related to 9/11, and has published repeated anniversary statements — but no cited source provides footage of Mamdani himself uttering the “deserved 9/11” line [1] [2] [3].
1. How the “deserved 9/11” allegation circulated and who actually said it
Campaign ads and political opponents linked Zohran Mamdani to a 2019 Twitch remark that “America deserved 9/11,” but the original speaker was Hasan Piker, not Mamdani. Reporting shows the controversy centers on Mamdani’s association with Piker when they appeared together and on attack ads that juxtapose Mamdani footage with Piker’s statement to imply equivalence. There is no direct video or primary-source evidence showing Mamdani himself uttered the phrase “America deserved 9/11.” Mamdani publicly disavowed Piker’s comment as “objectionable and reprehensible,” which further undercuts claims he made that specific statement [1] [2].
2. What journalists actually documented about Mamdani’s public remarks on 9/11
Multiple outlets reviewed Mamdani’s public comments and social-media posts and found nuance rather than a simple incendiary claim. Reporting documents Mamdani recounting his aunt’s fear riding the subway after September 11 and framing Muslims as suffering backlash in the aftermath — statements about survivors’ experiences, not endorsements of the attacks. Contemporary articles quote Mamdani expressing sadness and describing the attack’s formative effect on his life and community, and they note opponents’ attempts to conflate those remarks with unrelated incendiary commentary from others [4] [2].
3. The social-media pattern that added fuel to the controversy
Investigations into Mamdani’s anniversary posts show a pattern of similar language repeated across years, which opponents seized on as evidence of tone or emphasis. A September 2025 review found nearly identical messages on consecutive anniversaries, with the 2024 post explicitly mourning “Nearly 3,000 New Yorkers” and citing both victims and the “millions who suffered in the wars that followed”; earlier versions omitted explicit mention of first responders and referenced “hundreds of thousands” in subsequent wars, provoking criticism from veterans and rescue communities. Repetition and wording shifts in these posts created political vulnerability even though they are not video admissions of wrongdoing [3].
4. How major players used this material during the campaign and their possible motives
Former Governor Andrew Cuomo and pro-Cuomo super PACs used the Piker audio and Mamdani footage to frame Mamdani as unfit for crisis leadership, specifically invoking 9/11 in radio and ad spots. Those attacks relied on associative editing — pairing Mamdani imagery with Piker’s quote — a tactic that can create misleading impressions without a primary-source statement from the targeted candidate. Journalists documented Cuomo’s radio invocation of 9/11 as a rhetorical device to question Mamdani’s readiness, while national outlets pointed out the absence of a direct Mamdani video saying the line opponents ascribed to him [5] [1].
5. What primary-source evidence is missing and what remains documented
Across the reporting sampled, there is no primary-source video or transcript in the public record attributing the phrase “America deserved 9/11” to Zohran Mamdani himself; the only directly traceable source for that phrase is the 2019 Piker remark. What is documented are Mamdani’s own public statements about 9/11’s impact on his family and community and his repeated anniversary posts, which show consistent messaging but not endorsement of the attack. Fact-based coverage therefore distinguishes between Piker’s original comment, Mamdani’s disavowal of it, and Mamdani’s separate public reflections [1] [4] [3].
6. Bottom line for readers: what to accept and what to watch for next
Accept that the specific incendiary phrase originated with Hasan Piker in 2019 and that no published primary-source video shows Mamdani saying it; treat associative campaign edits and repeated social-media wording as context, not proof of the quoted line. Voters and researchers should continue to seek original clips and timestamps before accepting edited ad implications as factual. Journalists and fact-checkers will likely continue to monitor newly released footage, candidate statements, and campaign materials to see if any primary-source evidence emerges that contradicts the current reporting [1] [2] [3].