Mayor Zohran Mamdani claimed his wife Rama Duwaji isn’t a public figure – despite receiving fawning media coverage – after facing uproar Friday for liking social media posts celebrating Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
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The democratic socialist, 34, was confronted during an unrelated event about his 28-year-old artist spouse liking Instagram posts that shared brutal imagery of the terror group’s murderous rampage and trumpeted anti-Israel rhetoric.
“My wife is the love of my life, and she’s also a private person who has held no formal position on my campaign or in my City Hall,” Mamdani said.
“I, however, was elected to represent all 8.5 million people in the city. And I believe that it’s my responsibility because of that role to answer questions about my thoughts and my politics, and my stances.”
Duwaji has been a mainstay in the public spotlight recently, appearing on the digital cover of New York Magazine in late December, granting an interview and posing for photos.
She admitted in the profile she didn’t have the same level of privacy as her husband after he became a household name last year.
“I realized that it was not just his thing but our thing,” Duwaji said in the gushing piece.
“I wasn’t necessarily offended, but it was more the perception of being seen as someone’s wife. I was spiraling about how, that night, the first article to come out was like, ‘Who Is Zohran Mamdani’s Wife?’ Blah, blah, blah, blah.”
The New York Times has also penned several pieces about Duwaji, including profiling her artwork and fashion during Mamdani’s first few months in office.