New York Mayoral Candidate Attacks Cuomo-Trump Rumor But Backs Terror Apologist Khalil

New York City mayoral candidate and self-described “democratic socialist” Zohran Mamdani is under scrutiny for his public associations with Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University student activist who has openly praised the October 7 Hamas attacks and called for the eradication of Western civilization, as reported by The New York Post.

The controversy began when Mamdani attempted to smear former Governor Andrew Cuomo for allegedly speaking with President Donald Trump. Mamdani claimed the two were “conspiring about the fate of this city.”

Cuomo has denied the accusation, stating no such call took place.

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While Mamdani sought to paint Cuomo’s rumored contact with the president as unacceptable, critics point to the candidate’s long-running advocacy for and collaboration with Khalil as a far more troubling association.

Khalil, a foreign national and key figure in Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), was detained by ICE after it was discovered he had lied on his visa application and had a history of inciting campus unrest.

CUAD issued a statement calling the October 7 terrorist massacre “a moral, military and political victory” and pledged to fight for the “total eradication of Western civilization.”

Khalil was later released and has since been promoted as a free speech martyr by anti-American activists, despite his repeated public defenses of terrorism.

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In a recent interview with The New York Times’ Ezra Klein, Khalil said of the Hamas attacks: “It felt frightening that we had to reach this moment in the Palestinian struggle,” and described the atrocities as an “attempt to tell the world that Palestinians are here.”

Khalil also characterized the Second Intifada — a bloody campaign that included suicide bombings targeting civilians — as a mostly “peaceful uprising.”

Following the backlash to Khalil’s statements, Gazan-born American analyst Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib responded:

“October 7 was a choice, not an inevitability! A choice that two psychopaths made from within Hamas’ military wing… It was not inevitable that Gaza had to be the source of the worst single-day attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust.”

Despite Khalil’s views, Mamdani has continued to align himself with the activist and support causes connected to CUAD and similar groups.

Critics now argue that Mamdani’s attack on Cuomo for allegedly speaking to the President of the United States rings hollow, given his own repeated support of individuals who justify terror and violence.

As Mamdani seeks the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor, questions have emerged over his judgment and whether voters are comfortable with a candidate who associates with known defenders of terrorist violence while portraying conversations with the president as somehow scandalous.

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