Ms. Rachel called New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani “awesome” and “gentle” as he faced a 9/11 memorial firestorm, then the uproar grew when cameras showed him laughing with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez while victims’ names were read at Ground Zero.
Rachel Accurso, the children’s YouTube creator behind Ms. Rachel, posted her support for Mamdani on Instagram before the 25th anniversary ceremony, as his planned presence at the memorial drew objections from Republicans and people affected by the attacks.
“Mayor Mamdani is awesome. I’ve met him, and he truly cares about New Yorkers. He’s such a kind, gentle soul,” Accurso wrote.
Her message shifted from Mamdani himself to the values she said New York City teaches young children.
Zohran Mamdani and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were spotted giggling as people wept during the annual reading of names during the 9/11 memorial ceremony.
The camera transitioned to Mamdani and Cortez after showing a man weeping as the names were read. pic.twitter.com/zmqL3o7eZx
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 11, 2026
“Our NYC Pre-K curriculum teaches children to be kind, respect different religions and cultures, and be proud of who they are,” Accurso wrote.
“It’s unacceptable that adults still judge, hate and attack each other because of religion and skin color. We should be setting a better example for our children.”
Accurso used the caption to call out Christians she accused of “hate and Islamophobia.”
This is further proof that you should keep your kids away from Ms. Rachel
Not only has she partnered with socialist New York mayor Zohran Mamdani, she’s invited Dylan Mulvaney on her show, shared pro-Palestine propaganda, & more…
I miss Mr. Rogers
— Jon Root (@JonnyRoot_) January 19, 2026
“Jesus was Jewish, and he taught us in the Good Samaritan parable that our neighbors are not just those who share our religion,” she wrote.
By then, Mamdani’s 9/11 record had already become part of the fight over whether he belonged at the ceremony.
Ms. Rachel and Mamdani
💯Cringe level extreme💯
Doomed, NYC is doomed. pic.twitter.com/hpb1d1LNFz— 🇺🇸 𝓐𝓟𝓡𝓘𝓛 𝓢𝓟𝓐𝓡𝓚𝓢 🇺🇸 (@AprilSpark1890) January 11, 2026
That scrutiny included his comments about Muslim New Yorkers after the attacks and the background of Ramzi Kassem, Mamdani’s chief counsel. Kassem previously represented Ahmed al-Darbi, an al Qaeda operative held at Guantanamo Bay whose brother-in-law helped hijack the plane that struck the Pentagon.
Mamdani had invoked his aunt last October while talking about Muslims facing suspicion after Sept. 11.
“I want to speak to the memory of my aunt, who stopped taking the subway after September 11th because she did not feel safe in her hijab,” Mamdani said.
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He then described what it meant to grow up Muslim in New York after the attacks.
“Growing up in the shadow of 9/11, I have known what it means to live with an undercurrent of suspicion in this city,” Mamdani said. “To be Muslim in New York is to expect indignity, but indignity does not make us distinct. There are many New Yorkers who face it. It is the tolerance of that indignity that does.”
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Gov. George Pataki objected to Mamdani attending the remembrance ceremony, but Mamdani said earlier in the week that he would go.
Zohran through tears: “My aunt stopped taking the subway after 9/11 because she did not feel safe in her hijab.”
Yes, she was the real victim of 9/11
pic.twitter.com/aILr4JtVvF— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 24, 2025
After attending a Thursday night memorial mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral led by Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks, Mamdani posted a message about those who died on 9/11.
“Today, I attended a memorial mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, led by Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks, in honor of those who died on 9/11,” Mamdani wrote.
The rest of the statement spoke of “unimaginable suffering” and New Yorkers answering the attacks with “love, sacrifice, and solidarity.”
“25 years ago, we bore witness to unimaginable suffering. But New Yorkers met that moment with a spirit of love, sacrifice, and solidarity that guided us forward. As we remember those we lost, let us continue to take refuge in one another. Let us recommit to the work of building a better city — one that is worthy of the legacy they left.”
After that wording drew criticism, Mamdani posted a Friday morning statement that directly identified terrorists.
“25 years ago, terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people, including 2,753 New Yorkers,” Mamdani wrote.
25 years ago, terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people, including 2,753 New Yorkers.
As we remember that terrible day, let us also remember the first responders, office workers and strangers who ran toward danger to help each other. Let us remember the extraordinary compassion,… pic.twitter.com/AO4RFEOZA2
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) September 11, 2026
His Ground Zero appearance created a new problem almost immediately.
As relatives read victims’ names, memorial cameras moved from a young man crying near the engraved names to Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez laughing together at the ceremony.
The footage circulated online, where Republicans and commentators used the moment to hammer both Democrats.
“Mandami and AOC sharing a good laugh while the names of 9/11 victims are read is quite the visual,” tweeted Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy.
“How the hell do you laugh while the names of those murdered on 9/11 are being read aloud? Why would you do so?” Sen. Ted Cruz wrote on X.
“Mamdani and AOC seem to be having the time of their lives while everyone else is paying respects to the deceased,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis commented.
Rep. Wesley Hunt said Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez were “laughing and smiling together” while Americans murdered on Sept. 11 were being named at Ground Zero.
“There is a time and a place for politics. This isn’t it. Ground Zero is sacred ground,” Hunt said.
Republican New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov connected the clip to the families who had asked Mamdani to stay away.
“After thousands of families of victims of terror beg Mamdani not to show up, he stands there and laughs while families weep. This is NYC’s Mayor,” Vernikov wrote.
Rep. Randy Fine called Mamdani “Jihad Mamdani” and said the mayor and Ocasio-Cortez should not have been at Ground Zero.
“They do not mourn this country, they mock it,” Fine wrote. “Have some damn respect.”
Commentator Meghan McCain added, “Why the f*ck are these two laughing?!?”
Accurso’s support for Mamdani followed her own confrontation over Israel, which podcast host Avi Lichtschein later recounted on “Depends on the Context.”
Lichtschein said he approached Accurso at a neighborhood park and asked why she was anti-Israel. According to Lichtschein, Accurso answered that she opposed the Israeli government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, not Israel.
“I pushed back on this, and I said, ‘That’s absurd,’” Lichtschein said.
He said Accurso referenced child deaths in the war with Hamas while defending her use of “genocide.”
“She said something along the lines of, ‘Twenty thousand children have died. How is that not a genocide?’” Lichtschein said.
Lichtschein said he tried to explain that genocide is not simply another word for war and that such language can endanger Jews outside Israel.
He also said Accurso repeatedly mentioned her husband’s Jewish father while insisting she supports Israel’s right to exist. Lichtschein said he told her she was “spreading blood libel.”
“I wasn’t planning on her changing her mind,” Lichtschein said. “I wanted to point out [that] [her] words are creating a lot of damage and I think someone with an audience as enormous as hers has a responsibility to understand what happens downstream from the things that she says.”
Lichtschein said he does not consider Accurso “a malicious antisemite,” but still believes her comments are harmful.
“I think that what she’s doing is motivated by compassion for children, but I think she’s very naïve and very gullible and doesn’t realize what her actions are doing to the Jewish community at large, what her words are doing to the enemies of the Jewish people. What she’s doing is harmful.”
Accurso’s “Songs For Littles” YouTube channel has 21.2 million subscribers and draws more than 400 million views each month.