De Niro Defends Mamdani’s 9/11 Attendance as He Calls Defund-the-Police Remarks Ridiculous
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 11
De Niro Defends Mamdani’s 9/11 Attendance as He Calls Defund-the-Police Remarks Ridiculous
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 11
Summary
Robert De Niro said Mayor Zohran Mamdani should attend Friday’s 9/11 memorial, arguing the mayor deserves “a chance” despite objections tied to his past rhetoric.
De Niro broke with Mamdani on policing, calling his 2020 “defund the police” comments “ridiculous” while saying they should not disqualify him from appearing at the 25th-anniversary ceremony.
More than 100,000 people have signed a petition urging Mamdani to skip the event, with critics citing his attacks on the NYPD and alleged ties to figures accused of sympathizing with terrorism.
The dispute has turned this year’s remembrance into a political flashpoint, with commentators and Republican critics also faulting De Niro for defending Mamdani while attacking President Donald Trump in the same interview.