Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani sharply criticized Republican Council Member Vickie Paladino after she appeared to question his legitimacy as a candidate and called for his deportation in a social media post Monday night.
Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist and a candidate in the mayoral election, described Paladino’s comments as a reflection of “Donald Trump’s authoritarian administration” after Paladino questioned Mamdani’s pathway to US citizenship in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Quoting a post from October 2019, Paladino highlighted that Mamdani had stated he was unable to vote in the 2016 presidential election because he was not yet a U.S. citizen. Paladino argued that it is “insane” for someone who has not been a citizen for ten years to seek major public office and went on to call for Mamdani’s deportation.
“Let’s just talk about how insane it is to elect someone to any major office who hasn’t even been a US citizen for ten years, much less a radical leftist who actually hates everything about the country and is here specifically to undermine everything we’ve ever been about. Deport,” Paladino wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In a subsequent post, Paladino described Mamdani’s path to citizenship as “sketchy to say the least.”
Mamdani responded by criticizing Paladino’s comments, noting that since launching his mayoral campaign, he has faced death threats and Islamophobic attacks targeting his family. He said calls for his deportation go beyond inflammatory language.
“This isn’t just hateful rhetoric — it’s a reflection of what happens when Donald Trump’s authoritarian administration is allowed to shove New Yorkers into unmarked vehicles, tear our communities apart and spit in the face of the Constitution,” Mamdani said in a statement, referencing ICE raids in New York City during the Trump administration.
Mamdani accused “MAGA extremists” of attempting to divide New Yorkers but said his campaign represents a movement grounded in unity and belonging. He described his mayoral bid as evidence of New York City’s inclusive future.
“But let me be clear: New York belongs to all of us. The MAGA extremists may try to divide us, but the movement we’ve built is proof of the enduring promise of this city. And we’re not going anywhere,” he said.
Mamdani, who represents the 36th Assembly District covering parts of Astoria, moved to the United States at the age of seven and spent much of his childhood on the Upper West Side. He attended Bank Street School for Children, the Bronx High School of Science, and later graduated from Bowdoin College in 2014. He was born in Uganda and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2018.
Paladino’s office has not yet responded to a request for comment.
